Rude Gal
by quickandevery
Summary: Elsa was wonderfully unobtainable and Anna was relentlessly stubborn. College AU. Elsanna.
1. Hello

"Anna, you know that you're fogging up the glass, right?"

Anna huffed a noise at the voice, a plume rising in the car's passenger window. "It's everything that I imagined," she said, voice small with wonder. "Kristoff, how can you live here _all the time_?" She turned her wide eyes upon him, gaping intermittently.

He grinned. "With practice," he said. "Now turn those eyes on somebody else, because I'm driving and I can't deal with your face."

Anna whipped her head around and squashed her face against the glass once more, whining just slightly. "Krishtoff, thish ish the besht ibea you've eber habd."

And it was, because she had waited a whole two years to be reunited with Kristoff. Being two years behind him in age never seemed to be that big of a deal to her until he was gone. Sulking around her high school while waiting to graduate had been the worst kind of agony without him (and no, she did not think that was being even a little bit over-dramatic).

Arendelle University wasn't particularly high-brow, seeing as it was just the state's college, but it still felt like something _more _to Anna. _Campus is more than enough reason for me to love this place already! I mean, _wow_, just look at it! It's in a valley, how cool is that? There's a river running straight through the campus and it's got a statue of some guy in the center dais! How many other campuses have some guy in their center dais? Now that I think of that, it seems kinda gross, but I know what I meant. I mean, it's _me_, of course I know what I -_

"Anna, if you keep drooling on me, I _will _let you fall."

Absently wiping the spittle from her chin, Anna found herself slumped against the door of the car, Kristoff before her with her luggage atop his shoulders. "Right, right. Okay, let's go!" she said cheerfully, tugging on Kristoff's elbow.

"Anna, you don't even know where you're going."

"No, but I'm pretty sure I can look at maps and, y'know, _read_. Look!" She wrenched her elbow back, gutting Kristoff ("_Oof –_ Anna!") and pointing imperiously at a sign. "Housing is that-a-way, my good man." She tottered off, dragging her best friend behind her.

"So what are the people like here? Wait, don't answer that, 'cause I want to figure them out on my own. Oh, but are they nice? Nope, don't answer that either; it'll ruin the surprise. Wow, is this a park? It's beautiful! Do you study here often, Kristoff? Hmm, that sorta sounds like an after school special or something now that I picture it. How's the cable out here?"

Kristoff smiled behind a calloused hand. "Anna, I love you and all, but you've got to stop talking."

She spun around, walking backwards with her arms outstretched on either side like she was balancing on a tight rope. "What did we agree on before we left, Kristoff?" she asked, quirking up a brow. "Say it."

He rolled his eyes. "'It's your first day and you're allowed to talk as much as you want just as long as I get to choose the restaurants on the way here,'" he recited.

Anna whirled back to face forward, stumbling only a little. "Onward!"

This place really was something else entirely. Anna admired the cobbled walkways and polished benches, peered down at plaques immortalized in bronze, and ogled at (just about) everything else. A cheesy sliver of her heart swelled in her chest. This was going to be the next chapter of her life!

_Oh god – I hope I don't mess it up._

After a rather stale conversation with an employee at the housing registrar office, Anna and Kristoff found themselves scaling the apartment block that would be hers for the next four years. Floor two, room two. The hallway leading to her room was a little cramped as she and Kristoff squeezed through it.

"Geez, Anna, lose some weight," he grumbled, puffing out his cheeks as they both crammed along the hallway.

"Oh, excuse me," she snorted. "I'm sorry that I-"

"Anna?"

She started, a retort poised on her lips, ready to admonish Kristoff for being an enormous idiot, but it died on her lips with a flash of brown hair. "Rapunzel!"

The girl smiled, eyes alight. "I didn't know that you'd be on my floor! Anna, this is awesome!" She rushed forward, hauling the struggling redhead into her arms and squeezing the life out of her. "Ouch, Rapun – Rapunzel... you're choking me!"

Rapunzel laughed. "Oh, you don't mean that, Anna." She gave Anna another hearty squeeze. "I've missed you so much!"

Anna clawed at her throat. "Y-you too, Rapunzel."

"Okay, okay, Rapunzel," Kristoff said, patting the woman in question on the head. "You're basically killing her. She gets it. Oh, and by the way, _hi_. I've been gone for an entire summer and you don't even notice me."

Rapunzel wiggled her fingers at him, nonplussed. "Is that jealousy I hear, Kristoff?"

Kristoff snorted. "Please." With a softened smile, he pushed the burden of Anna's luggage onto one shoulder. He embraced both girls in his free arm. "How's Flynn?"

"Eugene? He's great! And what about you and Sven?"

Kristoff beamed. It was no secret that Kristoff was completely enraptured by the recent addition to his family, Sven. Anna had personally handpicked the dog herself (and she was still pretty smug about it) for Kristoff's birthday, and the guy just fell in love.

"D'you know how many teeth puppies lose? It's _a lot_. I've collected so many off the floor and in his food bowl. Here, wanna see?" Kristoff shoved a hand into his pocket and began rummaging around.

"Er, that's... interesting?"

Anna squirmed out of the embrace of her two friends and approached her room, feeling a sudden nervousness as she stood before her door. She looked down at the key she was given and turned it over in her hands. Despite the warm, familiar bickering of her friends, she still felt hesitant in this brand new place. _Anna, are you suddenly a kindergartener? Pull yourself together, girl. You're eighteen and you're starting college. Act like an adult. _

"Does she look constipated to you?" Kristoff whispered to Rapunzel.

Releasing a breath, she pushed the room key into its lock and threw the door aside with a dramatic flourish. Behind her, Rapunzel quietly applauded.

"Wow," Anna said. "It smells like, well, dust."

Rapunzel peered over her shoulder. "Looks like your roommate hasn't showed up yet." She passed Anna with Kristoff on her heels. "Lucky," Kristoff muttered, inclining his head at the two cots in the room. "There's four guys in my dorm."

Anna surveyed the room. It wasn't anything special or personable, and it was awfully small, but she still grinned at it. This was her college dorm.

Her own – for herself!

* * *

As it turned out, Anna never did end up getting that roommate. It only succeeded in the utter bewilderment of Kristoff ("Why are you so lucky?"), and Anna assured him that she would have traded him if she could. Truthfully, she was happy that she didn't have to share space with another person, even if it irked her that she wasn't getting "the full college experience."

Her classes weren't anything exciting, just general education requirements, and it bummed her out just slightly. She wanted the feeling like she was at summer camp instead of college to fade away.

Her free time was spent exploring the campus. Trying to get Kristoff or Rapunzel to tag along proved futile since they already knew where everything was, but she still asked all the same. Didn't they understand that it was pretty frickin' cool to see new things, even if it was secondhand enjoyment?

_Whatever. I don't need 'em. _

There were all sorts of nooks and crannies around the campus that just begged for exploration. She always took a map with her to mark her discoveries, no matter how small. She'd already been kicked out of several janitors' closets and staff-only areas (and tripped and broke quite a few things in her stumbling exits).

It was fun, if a bit lonely.

She felt abnormally sad that she didn't have anyone to share the experience with. Kristoff and Rapunzel had their own lives and studies. Sometimes they just didn't have time for Anna, and she understood that. They were juniors, after all. She was just an awkward freshman who had a _lot _of free time on her hands.

_Pull it together, Anna. Don't get all sappy 'cause your friends don't give you one hundred percent of their attention! You're better than this!_

She tried making friends. Normally, it wouldn't have been that much of an issue (because she had had a horde of friends in high school; that had to mean something!), but she just didn't feel like her old bubbly self in this place. It was harder to make friends when you couldn't even open your mouth to speak.

Anna sighed and plopped down on a nearby park bench. She'd gone and driven herself into a mood and she was not happy with herself. _Maybe chocolate could fix it? _

Nodding her head seriously, she stood up and promptly smacked into someone incredibly soft.

_Oh, gee, let's think about how soft they are after you just knocked right into them without looking and _shit _I'm falling goddammit-_

Pale hands reached out and caught both of Anna's elbows, holding the woman upright. _Oh._

Slowly, she opened one eye, face still masked in a grimace. Oh – _oh._

"Sweet baby Jesus," Anna breathed, not entirely sure if she was looking at an angel or a human. The tall woman before her had to have been carved out of something mystical because good _lord _was she attractive. Milky white skin, killer bone structure (_That's the best you could come up with, Anna? 'Killer bone structure?!'_), platinum locks furled into a loose braid with windswept bangs, and the bluest eyes Anna had ever seen.

"Wow."

The woman's lips turned up in a smile. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Anna shook her head wildly. "Oh, no; no, I'm fine. Are _you _okay? I mean, I slammed into you pretty hard, which I am so-so sorry for, by the way. I stood up too fast like a _total idiot _and got vertigo and then just walked straight into you! Shouldn't I have heard you coming? Or _seen _you? Oh, god, I'll just shut up now."

The blonde laughed. "You're sure you didn't hit your head?"

Was Anna crimson? She felt crimson. "N-no, I didn't hit my head. Are _you_ sure you're alright?"

"Perfectly alright," the woman said, smiling at her in a way that ought to have been illegal by how unfairly attractive it was. "I'm Elsa."

"'I'm Elsa,'" Anna repeated dreamily, then slapped herself on the forehead. "I mean, _hi_, Elsa. I'm Anna."

Elsa extended her hand, and Anna stared at it dumbly before scrambling to take it. _Drop your other hand from your forehead, you big moron! It's not a Marco Polo handshake! _

"I'm sorry that I'm myself," Anna said, just barely stopping the urge to stuff her fist in her mouth. She quickly dropped Elsa's hand.

Elsa laughed again and melted Anna's heart. "If my opinion means anything to you, I think you're just fine, Anna." _Just fine, she says. I'm _just fine_. Wow, that's the best mediocre compliment I've ever received and it means a hell of a lot more to me than the good ones. _

Elsa inclined her head. "Are you new here?"

Anna nodded. "I just got here. I'm a freshman." _Nice. Two coherent sentences. You're on a roll._

Did Elsa always look this frickin' attentive to people she spoke to? She looked as if she were giving Anna her complete attention even though it was small talk and _I'm going to be a puddle on the ground if she keeps looking at me like that. _

"What, er, apartment block are you in?" Anna asked, struggling to keep the tremor out of her voice. _She's just a person. Get it together. Adult. Conversations. _"I'm C block."

"B," Elsa said. "Must explain why I haven't seen you around. My block is full, especially with more people returning from the break." She smiled that damn smile again and Anna let out a long breath.

"Two-two."

Elsa's brows drew together. "I'm sorry?"

"Oh, that's my floor and my room! I don't know why I said that – I wasn't trying to just randomly throw out information, y'know, like _tutu _(like ballerinas!), because that would be weird... And by tutu, I mean two-two. Like the numbers 'two' and 'two.' Yeah, shutting up now." _Time to go jump off a cliff. _

The blonde grinned. "Well, I'm one-four; the numbers 'one' and 'four.'"

Anna's ears burned.

Elsa pulled away, still smiling that ridiculously cute smile. "Well, I have to go, Anna. It was nice meeting you."

She was gone with a twirl and a mesmerizing dance of hips, and Anna felt like Elsa took Anna's dignity along with her. Collapsing back onto the bench, Anna let out a shaky breath.

"Bye, Elsa."


	2. Take

The response to the first chapter of this fic was just amazing. Thank you so much for the support!

* * *

_Become one with the floor. Start a new life as a resident of the library carpet. Maybe you'll find dust bunny versions of Kristoff and Rapunzel in this new land. See, that's a thought! You could totally throw away your human constraints and be the dust bunny god. Doesn't that sound fun? You would never have to think about your past actions and all the embarrassing failures, particularly this one. One with the floor, one with the floor, one with the-_

"Anna."

The redhead ducked further between her knees. _One with the floor, one with the floor._

"You have to get out from under the table, Anna."

"I really, really don't," she said into her knee. "I can just stay here forever and no one will know."

"People can see you." She peeked out from between her knees, coloring even _more _at the sight of at least twenty people craning their necks to get a better look at her. Didn't they have anything better to do than watching a young woman's life fall apart before her? It was just common courtesy to avoid eye contact when someone was having a mental breakdown! This was just _rude_.

Rapunzel crouched beside the table and extended a hand toward her. "Come on, Anna," she said, smiling warmly. "You can hide in my sweatshirt if you want."

Anna hissed at the offered hand. "I can't just _come out_, Rapunzel! Not after that!"

"And hiding under a table is a better solution, you think?" Rapunzel asked, scooting closer toward Anna until they were side by side. "You've publicly humiliated yourself thousands of times, so why is this any different?"

_Because Elsa saw it._

"I don't _know_, it just is!" Anna wailed instead, covering up the evidence of her shame that was vibrantly painted on her face. "A smaller group is more... intimate. At least if it's a big group, I can mold into the crowd. I'm going to just _die_."

Rapunzel smiled behind her hand. "You're not going to die."

"I tripped on my own feet, knocked a cart of books over, and landed on some guy's lap. What's worse is, instead of running away in shame, I hid. I hid under a fucking table. I didn't apologize to that guy or rearrange the books or even retie my shoes. I just _hid under a table._" Anna's face burned with embarrassment. "Don't sit here and tell me I'm not going to die!"

"Okay, you've had your pity party," Rapunzel said, plopping her hands on Anna's shoulders in a tight grip. "You're getting up. Right. Now."

Anna dug her heels into the carpet while an unattractive whale noise rose up in her throat. "Rapunzel-"

"Nope," the brunette said, teeth clenched. "Get up!"

Anna went limp in her arms, head lolling off to the side. "No!"

"God, you're heavy. How much do you even _weigh_-"

"Why is everyone _asking _me that?"

Rapunzel wrenched Anna out from under the table, one leg awkwardly wrapping around the table leg while she steadied her arms around Anna's waist. "Come on, Anna. We're almost there."

"Stop manhandling me!"

"If you would just cooperate, I wouldn't have to!"

"I didn't ask for your help!"

Anna braced her hands against the round table and squirmed, knocking her hip against Rapunzel's in an attempt to wiggle free. "Just let me die in peace, Rapunzel. If I had a will, you'd be in it. I'll leave you all of my worldly possessions, my wealth-"

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "What wealth?"

"_My _wealth." She gave an indignant huff, stilling in Rapunzel's arms. "Can you let me go now?"

Rapunzel eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Only if you're not going to duck under the table as soon as I let you go."

Anna plastered a smile on her face. "I'm fine."

Rapunzel ensnared a finger around Anna's closest belt loop, eyes still cracked into slits. "Alright, Anna. Behave yourself."

As soon as Rapunzel's arms had dropped from Anna's waist, she dove down, narrowly dodging the knee that had been aimed for her gut, scrabbling toward the safety under the table. _Did my jeans suddenly get tighter? What the hell?  
_

"Anna!"

She threw a glance back, one hand flailing out to bat at Rapunzel's finger around her belt loop. "Let go, Rapunzel," she squawked. "This is _not _okay! If I want to hide under a table for the rest of my life, then that's my prerogative!"

"I don't think anyone even remembers what happened, Anna," Rapunzel said, locking one of Anna's knees between her arm and elbow. "All they're doing is looking at _this_."

"Anna?"

Anna abruptly fell to the ground, all the fight spilling out of her at the sound of that particular voice. She spun around, knocking Rapunzel to the ground (whose hands were still tangled up in Anna's limbs) and looking up between her legs at _her_.

"Elsa," she sputtered.

"Elsa?" Rapunzel asked, blowing at the hair that covered her eyes.

Yes, Elsa. The very same Elsa from a week ago. The same Elsa whose eyes were now ping-ponging between Anna's and Rapunzel's. _Am I dead? Is this hell?_

Anna surged up, explanations tumbling off her lips. _Smooth it over. Don't act like a complete idiot. You can do this-_

In her haste, Anna hadn't judged the distance between her position and the bottom of the table. Her head cracked against the underside, momentarily blacking out her vision with pretty spots and a hazy outline of the woman Anna was so greatly trying to impress. _Good job. The inside of your skull will _easily _impress her._

"Oh, fuck." _Rapunzel, is that you? You sound like you're underwater. _

"Anna!" _I like how she says my name. I don't know what she does with that tongue of hers, but Elsa pronounces it better than anyone ever has. I wonder if she took lessons? Not, like, lessons because she's got a speech impediment, but lessons in... sophisticated speaking? What would that even be called? _

"Can you hear me, Anna?" _Ugh, not Rapunzel again. I mean, she's my cousin and all and I love her, but she's cramping my style right now. _

"'m fine," Anna muttered. "'m good."

"No, you're not." _Elsa. Hi, Elsa. _

"She might have a concussion," Elsa said, voice faraway.

An unladylike snort. "You've done it now, Anna," Rapunzel said. "Should I call the campus nurse? Or get a friend who can carry her? Should she be laying or sitting upright? I have no idea what I'm doing."

Elsa gave a soft laugh. "I don't think that will be necessary." Cool hands around Anna's waist jolted her out of the hum of bells clanging in her head. "Can you hold her feet, Rapunzel?" More hands around her ankles while those two exceptionally caring ones pulled her from beneath the table. They snaked up her shoulder and underneath her knees and she felt herself being lifted.

"Head rush," she mumbled, snuggling into the chest she was suddenly cradled to. She cracked open an eye, the lid dropping against the pervasive library lights, but she saw creamy white skin and unbelievably fair (_It _is _platinum!_) hair. Her heart unexpectedly dropped to somewhere around her stomach. Elsa was _carrying _her!

"I don't know how you could possibly hold her up for so long," Rapunzel said, bouncing alongside Elsa.

"I am _not _heavy," Anna huffed.

She shook in Elsa's arms as the blonde let out a warm laugh. "She's actually quite light."

"So there," Anna said, voice garbled against Elsa's collarbone. _Oh, god, I'm not slobbering on her, am I? _A quick, educational perusal of Elsa's torso deemed that, _yes_, Anna was slobbering on her.

"'m sorry," she murmured against the cloth of Elsa's shirt. Elsa looked down at her with a fond smile. "Don't apologize."

"Can't help it," she said, rubbing the tender bruise forming on her forehead. It sent a shock wave of nauseating pain throughout her entire skull, and she groaned pitifully into Elsa's chest.

"Anna?" Rapunzel piped up worriedly. "Keep her head steady, Elsa."

"Do you feel sick?" Elsa's breath ghosted across Anna's face and she swooned, even though her head felt like it just might explode. "Tired? Keep talking, Anna. I need to know." _I'd talk to you all day if I could._

"My head hurts," she said, and the understatement of it sent Rapunzel into a fit of giggles.

"We're taking you to your room," Elsa said around a smile. "Two-two, right? C block?"

Anna melted. "You remembered."

Soft lips pressed to her cheek. "Of course I did." _Don't. Hyperventilate. _

The two older women engaged the younger in as much conversation as they could just to keep her conscious, but Anna couldn't have remembered any of it even if she tried. _Not because I have a concussion, but because Elsa kissed me and I'll die happily right here. _

Swathed comfortably in Elsa's arms and her scent and against her (damn) nice chest, Anna was content to never move ever again. Maybe she should knock her head on objects more often? If she would get tended to by Elsa every time it happened, it was sort of a win-win for her. _I mean, yeah, I lose a couple of brain cells here and there but Elsa already robs me of my ability to speak, so what am I really losing? _

_Oh, I dunno, maybe just your dignity and self-respect. Plus, you need some of your brain cells to contemplate why you throw yourself at a woman you barely know. Just saying. _

Anna snuggled deeper into Elsa's cool embrace instead, because battling with herself in her own head about her _feelings _was vaguely terrifying.

* * *

Elsa slowly lowered Anna to her bed, mindful of her head and neck. Anna smiled up at her because she could. "You're the best, Elsa."

The blonde blushed faintly. "Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Rapunzel puttered around them. She pulled off Anna's shoes, set a glass of water at the bedside table, and tugged a warm blanket up to Anna's chin. Elsa pulled up Anna's desk chair next to the bed and settled into it, peering over at Anna with sharp eyes.

"How do you feel now, Anna?"

"Better," she said, and it was true. Sure, her head was impossibly sore, but that was the extent of it.

"No nausea? The room isn't spinning or anything, is it? Can you remember the date?"

Anna tacked off each reply with a finger. "I don't feel sick, the room isn't spinning, and it's Tuesday, September 2nd." She smiled prettily at Elsa, enjoying the still-present blush on the blonde's face. "Everything in order, doctor?"

"Quick," Rapunzel said, rushing over to Elsa (and nearly knocking her over in the process), "how many fingers am I holding up?" She threw her hand in Anna's face, quite nearly smacking her upside the head.

"Four, Rapunzel."

"Are you sure or are you guessing?"

"I'm sure."

Rapunzel smiled and retreated, traipsing over to the opened dorm door. "Kristoff!" The large man pushed past her, wiping sweat from his forehead impatiently. "What did you do, Anna?"

The woman in question rolled her eyes. "Head impact on the underside of a table."

Kristoff raised a brow. "Rapunzel made it sound like you lost your leg or something." His gaze trailed up Elsa's form. "Elsa? How'd you get dragged into this mess?"

Elsa pointed an indulgent look at Anna, causing the redhead to blush fiercely from head to toe. "Oh, I was just in the right place at the right time." She took Anna's right hand in hers, rubbing the knuckles between pale fingers. "I don't think I'm needed here anymore," she said, smiling regretfully. She dropped Anna's hand against the bedspread and stood, letting out a long breath.

"I should go." Anna blanched. Elsa couldn't just _leave_, could she? Was that even allowed? She had just _saved _Anna's life! _Drama queen. _

She wasn't sure why she said it, but she still stammered out a "no!" Elsa turned back to her, all concern shining in those icy eyes. "Anna?"

Anna squirmed uncomfortably under the looks of the three others in the room, but she met Elsa's gaze with a small pout. "Can you – can you stay, Elsa? Please?"

A smile played on the blonde's lips (and Anna wished she could play on those lips, too), but she nodded her head. "If that's what you want."

"I'm not messing up your schedule, am I?" Anna asked, suddenly quite fearful she was going to ruin Elsa's academic career. "I don't want to put you out because I'm-"

"Hush," Elsa said, smiling with something that made Anna's stomach knot up with butterflies. "You're no trouble."

Behind her, Kristoff guffawed. "'No trouble.' Elsa, you don't even know what you're getting into."

Rapunzel shot him a dirty look, but there was a smug realization playing in her eyes. Anna didn't even want to know what the brunette was thinking up in that head of hers. "Don't be a dick, Kristoff," Rapunzel said, wrapping both hands around one of his wrists. "Come on."

"Why do we have to leave?" Kristoff asked, bracing one arm against the door frame as Rapunzel tugged at his forearm. "You made me get up in the middle of my class with threats of bodily harm because Anna hurt herself and now you're telling me I have to _leave_?" Rapunzel impatiently stamped her foot.

"Come _on_," she insisted, looking between Elsa and Anna, hoping Kristoff would take the hint. Kristoff just shrugged his big shoulders, looking appropriately defeated. "Whatever. Anna-" he pointed a finger at her "-I'll see you later. Don't die while I'm gone."

Anna muffled a snort behind her hand. "I'll try."

They seemed to suck all the noise and comfort out of the room with their departure, leaving two strangers together in suffocating silence. Elsa returned to her perch on the bedside chair. Anna started, swallowing noisily because _holy shit we're alone together._

"Your friends care about you a lot," Elsa said softly. _God, _everything _about her is soft, isn't it? Her voice, her eyes, her hair, that skin... _"If I had known, I wouldn't have intruded." Anna's eyebrows drew together, head cocked at an angle that said, "what?"

"I-I wanted you to intrude," Anna said, then promptly shut her eyes in heated mortification. "I mean-" _Idiot. All together, now. _"I don't know, Elsa, honestly – I just wanted you to notice me but I chose to nearly give myself a concussion as my method."

Elsa's eyes sparkled with amusement. "And why did you want me to notice you?" _Oh, you coy little..._

"I don't k-know. I mean, I _do _know, but I didn't want to tell you that I know, but here I am, y'know, telling you that I know. Does that make sense?" _It's hard to talk with this foot in my mouth. _

Elsa reached out, brushing flyaway hairs out of Anna's eyes. She cupped Anna's cheek in her chilly hand, sending pinpricks of pleasure down the redhead's spine. Her touch was incredibly gentle, enough so that Anna barely even noticed she was there. Far too soon for Anna's liking, she pulled back and tangled her fingers together.

"You are adorable," Elsa said, and Anna internally combusted with white-hot embarrassment and insurmountable joy. "However," she continued, "if you wanted me to notice you, you could have just said 'hi.'"

Anna slowly dragged the blanket Rapunzel had given her up over her face.

"Too easy," she said after a moment, her confidence blooming now that Elsa was out of view. "I think helping a girl you barely know with an impromptu head injury is way more memorable than a 'hi.'"

"Is Anna there?" Elsa asked wryly. "I don't seem to remember making friends with a blanket."

Anna whipped the blanket so fast off her face that she was sure she had rug burn. "I'm your friend?"

Elsa pursed her lips. "If that's okay with you."

Anna scrambled into a sitting position, just barely containing her cringe as her head twinged sharply. "Really?" she demanded. _Wonderful job, Anna. Way to sound as aggressive as possible. You should just grab her shoulders and shake her senseless. "AM I YOUR FRIEND?!"_

Quieting, she blinked up at Elsa in what she hoped was not a completely pitiful way. "Really?"

And Elsa grinned, reaching out to take Anna's hands in hers. "Yes."


	3. Unobtainable

Still blown away by the attention this fic has received. You're all fucking awesome.

* * *

Anna sat rigidly; jaw clenched, shoulders taut, lip adorably bitten. The fate of everything rested on her concentration, on her balance. If she thought too hard on the action at hand, it would mess up the implicit action. Concentration, but not enough so that she lost control. She could _do _this. Despite its difficulty and reliance of her every muscle to be stiff and strong, she would do this. There would be no failure. She couldn't bear to look at Elsa if she were to fail.

Elsa peered at her over steepled fingers. "You're tilting."

_Dammit. _"You're looking at me," she said around bared teeth. "Look somewhere else."

Elsa obediently complied, eyes dropping to rest on Anna's bruised lips. "Here?" _Nopenopenope. Keep it together, Anna. Don't lose it, _don't _lose it. Ignore her. She's not going to win this because you won't let her. You have something to prove, so don't mess it up. _

"No."

Anna swallowed, her mouth drying at the sight of Elsa watching her throat contract. Those _eyes_, God, they were going to swallow her up. "Here?"

"N-No?"

Elsa hummed, untangling one set of fingers to tap against her lips. "Where would you suggest I look?" Did Elsa's voice suddenly deepen or was Anna imagining it? And was she throwing Anna a look that practically _smoldered_, or was that just wishful thinking? Then again, _all _of Elsa's expressions tended to be smolder-y. _Smolder-y? That's a new one, Anna. You had better write it down in your book of sexy jargon._

Anna gave a small shrug, momentarily forgetting why she was so stock still in the first place. The books on her head wobbled at the motion, disrupting the equilibrium she had worked so hard to achieve. She stomped down the urge to raise her hands to steady the books, instead throwing a defiant glare at Elsa.

"You sneak."

Elsa's lips twitched.

Damn, she was captivating though, wasn't she? Even in the smallest of gestures, Elsa succeeded in squeezing the life out of Anna's heart. It was blatantly unfair that she could reduce Anna to a stuttering blob of emotions with a wink or a smirk or a laugh. Not that Anna was directly opposed to it (because she was certainly _not_), but it left her without control over her mouth most of the time.

But it was just so _easy _to ensnared by Elsa's charms, and Anna quite willingly handed herself over. She liked how Elsa made her feel, plain and simple. There was something inherently different about Elsa that separated her from all the others. In the few short weeks that the two women had known each other, Elsa had taken residence in Anna's head and she didn't foresee that changing anytime soon.

_Stop blubbering. It's embarrassing._

"What could you be thinking about?" Elsa asked, punctuating the question with a perfect brow arched up in the most enticing way. _Am I suddenly attracted to eyebrows or do I just like Elsa's?_

"You," Anna said, and the books atop her head promptly tumbled down.

Elsa's laugh was something Anna always liked to savor. Elsa was always kind (_always_), but she had a distance about her that seemed to diverge with her personality. She was naturally aloof, and to bring out her laughter made Anna feel like the redhead had won a medal. It was just so satisfying even if, in this case, Elsa's laughter was directed at _her_.

"Ha ha," Anna grumbled, struggling with whether or not she felt offended. Sure, she was ecstatic that she had been able to draw out Elsa's laugh, but she was still a bit miffed that she had lost their bet. "What shade of red is my face?" If she was going to be embarrassed, the least she could do was accept it and minimize the damage it did to her psyche.

"I think you're doing better," Elsa said with a charming smile. "You're not even red this time, just pink." She bent forward, slender fingers cupping her jaw. "But you lost the bet, and you now owe me a favor."

Anna anxiously pulled on her braids, unable to hold Elsa's intense gaze for too long. Plus, the blonde had on a tank top, and when she _leaned _like that... "What do you have in mind?" she asked, voice squeaky. She cleared her throat.

Elsa sat back, kicking her left leg out to cross over her right. She tossed her foot lazily, the motion drawing Anna's eyes as it rose and fell. _Damn, that's a nice leg. The other one's pretty good, too. _

"My step brother is graduating from Arendelle next week," Elsa began, her tone uncharacteristically hard in contrast to what Anna was used to. "My parents decided to wait until he got his actual diploma to celebrate his accomplishments." She turned expectant eyes upon Anna, the hard lines disappearing from her expression as she gazed at the redhead. "As Hans' step sister, I'm expected to be there, and I'll need a date."

_Oh, god. What if she's asking me if I know some guy that will go with her? Wait – what if she's asking _me _to go with her? On a date? No, no. I don't even know if she likes women! Why would she ask me, anyway? She's a senior and I'm a freshman. I'm probably too young, too inexperienced... But Elsa isn't shallow like that. I _know _her. Fuck, now I feel awful for even thinking that. I wonder if she can read my thoughts and now she knows what I've said! Thought? Said-thought? _

"Anna?"

The young woman started.

Elsa cocked her head to the side. A faint blush had arisen in her cheeks, and Anna felt a smile quirk up on her lips at the sight of it. "Yes, Elsa?"

"I said, 'Would you like to be my date?'"

Seeing Elsa look so flustered (or as flustered as Elsa could get, because she never lacked her composure) only made her that much more endearing. She sat before Anna with regal grace and a tantalizing leg swinging back and forth, a blush spread across barely-there freckles, and Anna had to restrain an indecent squeal at the back of her throat. Elsa was just so painfully adorable, enough that Anna's chest ached when she looked at the blonde.

Elsa finally looked away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have presumed you were available."

Wait, what?

"No!" Anna shot out of her seat, slamming her palms down on the bench table with enough force to make Elsa jump back with a gasp. Anna smacked a hand to her head and kneaded the skin at the bridge of her nose between a thumb and forefinger. "God, no, Elsa. I _want _to go with you."

Elsa remained silent, her eyes searching Anna's for a long moment. Anna circled the bench and at Elsa's end, taking the blonde's hands in hers. Elsa hadn't ripped her hands away, so Anna figured she was doing _something _right. "I'll go with you, Elsa."

Elsa smiled, tentatively squeezing Anna's hands, but was still oddly quiet. Anna sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she probably just freaked Elsa the hell out. "I'm sorry that I'm myself," she said, a grin beginning to stretch across her face.

That broke the spell. Elsa laughed and Anna felt like exploding from happiness. "I think you're just fine, Anna."

* * *

Anna stood in front of the full length mirror in her dorm room, eyes critical as she examined herself. Elsa had the most curious skill in that she could rob Anna of any and all coherent thought, so when Anna had enthusiastically agreed to join Elsa at her step brother's party, the redhead hadn't thought of the fact that she didn't own anything that fancy.

She sighed. "I am so perfectly screwed."

Kristoff heaved himself off her bed and circled her, capturing the material of her dress at her shoulders between his fingers. "Anna, this looks _fine_."

"It may be _fine_, but I want to look _nice _for her." She pouted, tugging at her dress with impatience. "It'll be in front of her family and I really want to make a good impression."

"Meeting the family on the first date," Kristoff tutted. He retreated back to the bed and sprawled out across it. "Trust me, Anna. You'll look good in whatever you wear. I've seen you two together and I'm pretty sure Elsa couldn't give less of a damn what you're wearing as long as you're with her."

Anna blushed. "She's not oblivious, Kristoff. She's probably the most observant person I've ever met, actually." _And the most beautiful, and the smartest... _"Besides, even if she _was _oblivious, which she's _not_, that doesn't mean her family is."

She twirled to face Kristoff. "Honest opinion – how does this look?" she asked.

"Too red," he said. "It clashes with your hair and makes you look like a tomato. Try the black one on again." She squinted at him. "Kristoff, you just told me this one looks fine!"

"Well, you went all lovesick puppy on me so I figured that I would 'buckle down.'" He rolled his eyes. "The black one, Anna. Trust me."

Kristoff politely covered his eyes with his palms as Anna shimmied out of the red dress and into the black one. She plucked at invisible defects in the fabric and compulsively smoothed the material across her chest three times.

"Okay," she said, turning to face Kristoff once more. "The black one."

He dropped his hands and examined her for a long moment, nodding his head every once in awhile. "Turn around and show me the caboose."

"Did you just age sixty years?"

"Turn."

Sighing, she spun around, peering over her shoulder at Kristoff and sticking her tongue out.

"You look beautiful," he said at last, smiling at her indulgently. "Elsa will love it." He jumped up and patted her head fondly. "I'm sure her family will think that you're appropriately dressed, too."

Two raps on the door signaled Rapunzel's entry as she burst through, bouncing over to Anna and spinning her around. "Oh, would you _believe _it, Kristoff?" she sang. "My baby cousin is going on a date with _Elsa Johans_, the veritable Snow Queen of Arendelle University."

"She is not a 'Snow Queen,'" Anna said, bristling just so. She knew Elsa wasn't the type who cultivated many friendships, but she was always pleasant to be around. _Rapunzel is totally off base._ Hell, Rapunzel had talked Elsa's ear off while Anna was fighting for her life after the table incident. "You talked to her the other day like she was your best friend."

Rapunzel wagged an imperious finger in Anna's face. "I talked _at _her. She probably didn't hear a word I said because she was too busy worrying over you."

Anna tried to strangle her blush, she really did.

Kristoff nodded sagely. "Now _that's _tomato."

* * *

Anna was so nervous that she felt like throwing up.

She had never been on a real one-on-one date before. There were times in high school where she went out with a crush under the protection of at least five other people. It was easy, safe, and opened up the conversation beyond two people awkwardly circling one another, trying to find a topic that could light the match and tend the fire.

But Elsa was just so _intense_. She never caused Anna to feel uneasy, but there was something in her stare that made the redhead's tongue knot up in her mouth. And to be going with Elsa to a formal gathering with the word "date" slapped under it...

Her knees trembled.

"Are you _shaking_?" Kristoff asked in disbelief. "Anna, it's just a date."

She resisted the urge to growl at him. "I know that, Kristoff. I just – it's my first date with her." She turned wide eyes upon him. "I want there to more, y'know? I really like Elsa, like, _really_."

He grinned. "I'm sure you do, because whenever you talk about her, you get like this. More nervous babbling than usual, an overabundance of 'likes,' and longing stares." He mimed her, pouting his lip out and staring off into the distance.

She smothered a grin behind her hand. "Shut up."

He stood before her, dropping big hands onto her shoulders. "Relax, Anna," he said. "She'll think you're beautiful, you'll probably trip on something, the party will be boring but you'll stare at Elsa like a lost puppy, and you'll get through it without an ambulance being called." He squeezed her shoulders and smiled at her. "Okay?"

"Okay."

Kristoff was right – wasn't he always?

The hours before the graduation party seemed to drag on forever. Anna would shift between sitting on her bed, pacing rapidly, and staring at the time on her phone. The trepidation seemed to well up in her throat and chest without ebbing, and it made her break out into a cold sweat. Was she truly overreacting? It didn't _feel _that way. She wasn't aspiring for perfection because, let's be honest, she was the farthest thing from perfection. She just wanted to have a good time with Elsa because she liked the blonde so much it _hurt_.

_She hasn't even show up yet and you're turning into a puddle of goop. That's a new feat, Anna. _

She supposed her fears weren't entirely misplaced, because Elsa's family was as close as one could get to royalty in Arendelle. And for whatever reason, Elsa had decided to take Anna as her date. Anna was going on a _public outing _with Elsa Johans at an upper-scale party. Anna was certain that there would be all sorts of important people attending, and it only increased the rate of her perspiration. _God_, what if she were to spill a drink on someone? What if she crashed into someone else and they fell into a buffet table?

_Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic._

The soft knock on her dorm door made a lead weight drop in her gut. With a trembling hand, she turned the knob and sighed (dreamily) at Elsa. She sagged heavily against the door frame, shaking her head just slightly in time with her breaths. "Do you always look so amazing?" she whined, not even bothering to feel embarrassed. She was absolutely defeated.

A smile twisted across Elsa's lips. "I could say the same for you," she said, extending her hand. "Are you ready?"

They walked in comfortable silence to Elsa's car, with the younger of the two slowing her steps just enough to admire the elder's swaying hips. _Damn. _Elsa threw a glance at Anna over her shoulder. One of those brows quirked up in a way that had to be fucking _unholy_.

Anna slowly dragged her eyes away from Elsa's hips. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips unconsciously as she met Elsa's icy gaze. _How can I make it sound like I wasn't just ogling her ass for a solid minute there? _

"Um."

_Brilliant. _

"We're at the car, Anna," Elsa said, smirking, because _of course _she knew were Anna's attentions had been diverted. Her teeth sunk into that full bottom lip and Anna swallowed down her desire. _I've made it from my room to the car, and so far I am only highly aroused. That's better than I anticipated. Go me. _

Anna swiped a hand over her mouth, banishing all thoughts of hips under soft black fabrics. Instead, she focused on Elsa's eyes. They were the safest place her own could rest upon without finding herself drooling all over the car's leather upholstery.

This was different, though, wasn't it? It was strange to find herself so tangled up in Elsa's mannerisms, because while she had certainly been enamored with the blonde before, now it was tenfold. Those damn magic words, "would you like to be my date?" seemed to have ignited a fire in Anna's belly and the burn was _oh so_ fucking slow.

"I should warn you," Elsa said, tapping short nails on the steering wheel, "that this isn't going to be the most eventful night of your life." She speared Anna with an apologetic look. "My step father has... networked extensively, and that means that you can expect the main age group to be fifty-five and above."

Anna heaved a dramatic sigh. "Well, that changes everything, Elsa. I'd much rather hang out with older folks than you." She shook her head back and forth. "I knew that you would figure it out eventually. God, I am so embarrassed-"

"Alright, alright," Elsa interrupted with a laugh, "I get it."

The fog lifted, and they continued their relentless teasing for the rest of the drive.

* * *

Anna didn't come from any sort of wealth. Her mother died when she was young, leaving her father to raise her alone with only a high school diploma under his belt. They lived modestly, but Anna had never been unhappy. Her father loved to work and his work loved him right back. She never wanted for anything because of him, but then again, she had never been one for material possessions. She preferred memories and feelings to physical objects, like every time she earned her father's warm smile or the wisp of chilly fingers upon her forehead in her dreams.

Elsa's life was the polar opposite of hers.

The Johans' estate seemed to stretch on for miles in every direction. The mansion in the dead center of the property was appropriately enormous (_that's kind of what a mansion is, Anna_), with a winding driveway edged by beautiful flora. The road forked at either side of the ominous-looking gate that immediately withdrew at their arrival. To the left were rows and rows of expensive vehicles and a valet surging up to meet them. The right path wound across to the front gate where the hum of classical music was emanating.

Elsa's cool hand upon her face drew Anna into the depths of those kind eyes. "I know it's a little intimidating," Elsa said, her lips forming a crooked smile. "We don't have to stay for long."

Anna let out a whooshing breath. "It's just – this _place_, Elsa... You have all of this, and I couldn't-"

A thumb on her lips. "Hush," Elsa said softly. "Don't feel inadequate, Anna. You're no less than me and I'm no more than you." She winked. "Come on."

With her insecurities swept away, Anna allowed herself to be crashed into by everything that was Elsa Johans.

Elsa hadn't led her astray; the party was nothing like her expectations. Sure, there were a few people around her age, but the dominating body of the party had to be the clients Elsa's step father had procured. Few spoke to the duo, and if they did, it was to pass on well wishes to Hans.

Elsa didn't have them staying in one area for too long. The party naturally shifted on its own, but the platinum haired beauty was dead set on making "good time."

"If we move quickly enough, we won't run into him," she had said, brows furrowed and eyes sharp.

Anna had blinked. "What, Hans?"

A short nod. "He's not exactly my favorite person, and I don't quite feel up to grovelling at his feet just because he did what was expected of him and graduated."

Intrigued but hesitant, Anna had let the topic drop. Elsa's mood always seemed to darken considerably whenever her step brother was mentioned, so the redhead made sure to avoid bringing him up. Plus, it was damn fun hopping around from table to table and introducing herself to people that she would never see again.

"I should be Duchess Anna at the next table," she said, vibrating in her seat from excitement. "What do you think?"

Elsa grinned. "It'll only work if you put on a posh accent, you know."

The night continued on, and despite Elsa's claims that Anna wouldn't have any fun, she honestly had to say that the blonde was _wrong_. She didn't think she had ever had this much fun in her life, and it was all due to Elsa herself. For having such cool skin, she radiated warmth and drew others in with her smile and her laugh. More than once, Anna had caught herself gazing at Elsa with a dopey smile on her face, and it only widened when Elsa threw a suggestive smirk her way.

_She's amazing._

After visiting every table, Elsa confidently took Anna's hand in hers and led them out into the gardens. She had such nice hands, and when Anna thought about those hands long enough, her own began to sweat.

Blushing, she gave a futile tug to disentangle herself from the blonde's grip, but Elsa just rolled her eyes. "Anna, everyone's hands sweat," she said. "Nothing to be embarrassed about."

"You say that like yours do," Anna pouted. "We all can't be perfection, missy."

Elsa chuckled. "I'm not perfection," she said, swinging their hands back and forth girlishly. Anna felt the contentment settle in her bones with a pleasant weight. _It's probably illegal to be enjoying myself so much. _

Finally, Elsa came to a stop, turning to Anna with a demure little smile settling on her lips. Anna felt her heart throb in her chest at the sight of it.

"Elsa?" she asked, voice shaking with _something_.

Elsa's eyes softened into a calm blue. "Hmm?" She stepped closer, bold hands resting on Anna's waist. Anna swallowed down the sudden lump in her throat. _I needed a second to collect myself and figure out what words I wanted to say and she goes and does _this. _Oh god, I hope I don't start sweating everywhere._

"I-I had a really nice time tonight," Anna said, cringing at her own delivery. _Smooth as silk._

Elsa's head tipped to one side. "So did I, Anna," she said. "I'm actually surprised. I never thought I could have so much fun at one of these events." She leaned closer, and Anna's heart galloped into overdrive. "Thank you, Anna, for coming with me tonight."

Anna wet her lips, eyes sliding down to Elsa's. _Fuck. Me._

Elsa closed the distance between them and pressed a chaste kiss on Anna's lips. The redhead's eyes, widened in surprise, slowly shut at the feel of the blonde's lips molding against hers with an adorable amount of caution.

Anna looked up at Elsa (who was startlingly tall when she was this close) and dragged a hand up to cup that pale jaw. "You're welcome, Elsa."

And Anna pulled Elsa's lips back to hers.


	4. Frigid Fire

Unfortunately, dear readers, it's never that easy. Thanks for the feedback, as always.

* * *

Anna had felt desire before. She'd pined after crushes in high school, sure. Hell, she'd even tended to an uncomfortable interest in Kristoff for a few years. Those types of feelings were innocent and verged on adoration more than actual desire.

But this? God, this was _lust_.

What she felt for Elsa was on an entirely different plane of fucking reality. It was hot, invasive, but she didn't ever want it to end. Her hands tingled, the hair along her arms raised, and she trembled at the feel of cold hands securing her in place while the curious assault on her lips continued.

Elsa nipped at Anna gently, their noses brushing together. "Sorry, was that too much?"

Anna sucked in a long breath because her lungs were on fire. "Not enough." _Too pushy? I don't even know anymore. _

Elsa smiled, tracing the pads of her thumbs slowly around the blush consuming Anna's face. Her eyes, the most expressive part of her, had darkened so much that Anna had to restrain a gulp. _This is a public place, one, and you shouldn't jump someone on the first date, two. _

Anna's eyes drew down to Elsa's lips. They were moving now, but Anna couldn't have associated a sound with the motion. She was too busy admiring how they formed the words, her hand unconsciously raising to trail along the indentations from where her own teeth had sunk in.

Elsa took a hold of Anna's wrist, a grin emerging from underneath the redhead's fingers. "You are adorable."

"You always say that," Anna murmured, ears flaming.

Elsa pressed her cool lips to Anna's forehead. "Because you are."

And she lingered there, breathing evenly against Anna's skin. Wisps of platinum hair tickled the redhead's nose and she beamed into Elsa's neck, sliding her arms securely around the slim waist before her.

Elsa's skin was always chilled. Even in the summer heat when they would sit in the park, she would still be blessedly cold whenever she took Anna's hand in hers. To have that all around her, similarly like when Elsa had carried her, felt pretty damn awesome. Anna felt content to never move ever again, just as long as Elsa didn't either.

"Elsa!"

The warmth that had seeped from Anna to Elsa frosted over so quickly that Anna shivered. Elsa's arms remained around her, but the gesture was stiffer, and the blonde's jaw worked against her teeth. Anna gave Elsa a comforting squeeze. "What's wrong?"

Elsa looked down at her with a frown. "Hans," she said, and left it at that. Her hand clutched at Anna's firmly, and her eyes shone with something that the redhead had never seen in them before. Anna feared what would come of this.

A man stepped out into the gardens, all wide smiles and perfect, glinting teeth. He was dressed in a smart suit that cut to his lean form as he strode across the cobbled walkway to meet them. Auburn hair, trimmed sideburns, and a flushed face - likely from too much wine. Anna struggled to understand how this friendly looking man caused the blonde beside her to ensnare a death grip on her hand.

"There you are," Hans said, extending a hand toward the duo. "I haven't seen my sister in months, and when I finally do, she's planning on skipping out on my graduation party without even congratulating me!" He gave a dramatic roll of his eyes. "Surely I'm not that bad, am I, Elsa?"

Elsa's lips drew up in a disturbing attempt at a smile. "I wanted to congratulate you personally," she said, the deflection noticed by all. "You know how the crowds bother me." She inclined her head toward Anna, pressing slender fingers on the skin at the inside of the younger woman's elbow. "This is Anna Oaken."

Hans' eyes narrowed momentarily at their closeness before the wide smile returned. "I see. Hello, Anna. I'm Hans Reese, the terrible older brother." The two women disentangled themselves from one another with a series of regretful glances. Anna stepped forward, reaching her hand out to shake.

"Hi, Hans."

He swept her hand up and planted a charming kiss upon it. Anna could have sworn the surrounding air dropped in temperature. She suppressed a quake at the base of her spine, plastering on a smile that she didn't quite feel. She'd have to take lessons from Elsa on how to perfect uncomfortable smiles. With a little cough, she withdrew her hand and clutched it with its twin behind her back.

"Don't believe all that my sister's said about me, Anna," Hans said with a wink. "Sibling rivalry can... get out of hand." He straightened and Anna receded back into the cold comfort of Elsa's presence. The blonde snaked a hand up Anna's back, and the redhead breathed a sigh of relief she hadn't realized she'd been holding in.

"Where have you been, Elsa?" Hans asked, tipping his head to the side. "You've been holed up at that school for so long, I almost forgot I had a sister!" He chuckled, but neither woman joined him. _I can barely speak, let alone laugh. What's the expression? 'You could cut this tension with a knife?' _

It was horribly awkward to be present for this exchange. The Elsa that Anna had grown used to was washed away in the presence of her step brother, but Anna couldn't really imagine why it was. Elsa never acted this way with Anna, nor anyone else she knew of at the campus. As soon as Elsa had heard Hans' voice, she'd stolen away inside her own head, leaving only a shell that only continued to toughen.

Anna bit her lip.

Hans continued to smile pleasantly.

Elsa scowled.

Finally, the blonde spoke, but her voice was dripping with apathy. "I've been busy, Hans." The words were curt, obviously aimed to dissuade the handsome man, but didn't have the desired effect.

Hans laughed. "What, with math? Are you really using that as an excuse to not call up your older brother?" He stepped forward, cupping both of Elsa's arms and essentially pushing Anna out of the way. Wide eyed, the younger woman's gaze snapped between the two elders, unsure if she should reach out to intervene.

_What would you even be able to do? What would that even _accomplish?

"Elsa," Hans said earnestly, "thank you. I didn't think you'd show and you did, and that means the world to me." Elsa merely nodded, flickering her gaze to capture Anna's and holding it steady. She brusquely tore herself from Hans' grip, sliding a taut arm around Anna's waist.

"We'll be leaving," Elsa said, quiet and low.

The silence settled around the two women as the journeyed back to the car like smog. Anna words constricted around her throat and she couldn't bring herself to force them out. She was positive that Elsa couldn't have cared if she chose to speak or not, because the blonde hadn't uttered a word in the last five minutes.

For the life of her, Anna couldn't understand what had just happened. The man, Hans, had been nothing but gentlemanly toward herself and Elsa, but Anna couldn't help but wonder at what he truly was if he brought out such a reaction in Elsa. The blonde was the nicest person Anna had ever met, and to have her totally shut down and act like a complete stranger before her step brother...

Anna wasn't sure she wanted to know what Hans had done to deserve that treatment.

Elsa's fingers brushed against Anna's as they walked, slowly entwining and making Anna's heart thump just a bit faster. "Anna?" She looked at the blonde and worried her bottom lip. God, Elsa looked like a puppy had just gotten run over.

"I'm sorry," Elsa said, her voice just barely above a whisper. "Hans... makes me remember things that I would prefer to forget." She shook her head and seemed to find the strength to raise her voice with the motion. "And it wasn't right of me to draw you into that." She smiled, though it looked so forced that Anna had to dial back a cringe.

"That's okay, Elsa," she said, leaning her head against Elsa's shoulder (and sighing in relief when she wasn't rejected). "I knew you didn't like him, but you could have explained it just a little." She knocked her hip against Elsa's playfully. "Couldn't you have warned me that he was such a daddy's boy? I mean, _honestly_. That outfit looked like it cost more than my tuition."

Elsa squeezed Anna's hand. "He's a snob, isn't he?" she murmured. "Always has been. His taste for the finer things often put us at odds."

Anna curled into Elsa, nearly hissing in surprise when she was urged to walk in front of the blonde. Elsa dropped her head onto Anna's left shoulder and clasped her hands at the redhead's waist. A fresh batch of hot color rose up in every part of Anna's skin that was visible to the naked air.

_I swear to god that I'm swooning right now and I couldn't give less of a damn._

"I don't think you know what you do to me."

Anna felt fit to faint. _What I do to _you? _You're pressed into me... very nicely._

Elsa nuzzled her ear. "When he kissed your hand, I thought that I was going to free-" She stopped, her breath raising chills across Anna's entire body. "Well, I thought I was going to lose my mind," she continued, though her voice held a tremor that Anna couldn't bother identifying in origin.

Anna quirked her lips up with false bravado. "Oh?"

She could _feel _Elsa's grin. "Wouldn't it upset you if someone stole a kiss from _your _date?"

_God, that's why she's being so deliciously possessive. This is me complaining. Loudly._

"Oh, I don't know," Anna said, confidence bubbling to the surface. "It depends on the date. Take me for example; you're not getting anything particularly special, so there's not any hard feelings lost." She rested her hands on top of Elsa's, threading their fingers together. "But you are the type of date people would fight over, me especially-"

Elsa pressed a soft kiss just behind Anna's ear, and all the words she wanted to say knotted together in a mess of noises, tumbling out of her mouth in a "hnggwahh?"

"You sell yourself so short," Elsa said, voice so low that it stirred something hot in Anna's belly. "I think you're something very special, Anna." _Goddammit to all fucking hell._

"He stole a kiss upon your hand," the blonde growled. "Archaic words and practices, but I would still like to steal it back." Anna craned her head back and promptly drowned in two pools of blue so dark and deep she never expected to get out again.

She lifted a trembling hand that Elsa clasped and examined thoroughly, turning it over and rubbing pale fingers across the expanse of skin. Anna felt like her heart was permanently stuck in the region around her throat, she was that consumed with frigid fire.

Elsa quirked up a brow. "May I?"

Unable to trust her voice for the fear of it cracking like a teenage boy's, Anna nodded.

Slowly and with a tender care that broke Anna's heart and mended it all at once, Elsa planted a sweet kiss on the back of the redhead's hand. Lips connected to her skin and eyes gazing upwards, Elsa took Anna's breath away and she didn't dare give it back.

Elsa released Anna's hand, though her tongue swept out to wet her lips.

Anna huffed out a breath, wrapped up in her coiled arousal, not noticing that it swirled upward in shocks of vapor.

It was only September.

* * *

And when she found herself returned to her dorm, she staggered toward the showers. A quick peek around the stalls and an echoed "hello?" assured her privacy. She burst into a shower stall, tore off her clothes, slammed the faucet as hot as it would go, and hastily buried her free hand past slick thighs.


	5. Water

Who put this angst in here... Thanks for the continued feedback! I hope you enjoy this one.

* * *

"...a cold front came in just after 7pm last night, undetected by our Doppler. Arendelle is receiving temperatures as low as twenty-five degrees, along with plenty of rain and sleet. It's expected that it will get even colder throughout the afternoon, so be sure to bundle up... "

Rapunzel let out a long groan. "Rain, sleet, ice, _snow_... doesn't the weather know it's still _summer_?" She buried herself further into the couch. "It's just unfair!

Elsa raised a hand to her lips, though her fingers trembled. No. _No_.

_What have I done?_

Anna's arms constricted around her waist from her perch upon the couch arm. Elsa looked down, heart stuttering at the sight of the redhead, as it usually tended to do. She cupped the back of Anna's head, gently weaving her fingers past thick red hair to scratch along Anna's scalp in the way she liked. Anna sighed, pressing her flushed cheek against Elsa's side.

God, did she crave this warmth.

Anna tugged Elsa down, smothering a laugh against the blonde's back when she was unceremoniously dropped into Anna's lap. "Sorry," she said, though Elsa could feel Anna's grin as it molded against her own shoulder. "I wasn't trying to, er, put you in my lap."

Elsa slung an arm around Anna's back, shifting so that the younger woman was pressed against the crook of her neck. "No harm done." She smiled, nuzzling against Anna comfortably. Anna hummed against her skin, breath skating along its paleness, and Elsa had to restrain a sigh of pleasure. To be so easily undone, especially in front of Anna's friends, wasn't ideal, but she found herself sacrificing a lot of what she desired to receive Anna's smile.

"Are you okay?" Hushed against her skin, Elsa barely heard the quiet words. Anna's hands palmed her hips – perhaps nervously – and she felt her lips moving without consciously making the decision. "I have a... lunch with my parents," she said, though it wasn't truly what she wanted to reveal. _I somehow set off winter in September and I have no idea how to revert it back. _"It's a monthly ritual of theirs."

A lie. The words tasted foul on her tongue, and looking into Anna's wide eyes only made hot guilt rise up in her throat. It would be easy to tell her, so very easy, but Elsa couldn't. _Conceal, protect, uphold. _"I can't stand going," she said, smiling slightly in a way that portrayed her discomfort, just like how she had perfected. _Liar. _

Anna pursed her lips, drawing Elsa's eyes. "I sometimes forget that we haven't known each other that long," Anna said, blushing, her hands unconsciously pulling away from Elsa's body like they knew, too. "Should you be here, y'know, if you have somewhere else to be?" Her eyes widened. "Am I keeping you?"

Elsa smiled (genuinely this time), and couldn't resist leaning her forehead against Anna's. "I'll always make time for you." And she would, because Anna was the only bright spot she had to look forward to. "But I will have to leave soon." She dropped a tender kiss on freckled skin, dredging up all that she was to successfully pull away.

Anna pouted. "Will it take long?"

Elsa almost laughed. No, she didn't think she had it in her to stay away from those teal eyes holding her heart captive. "I'll try to leave as quick as I can," she assured. "You won't even have time to miss me." _Now is not the time to be flirting, Elsa. You have responsibilities, duties. _

Anna snorted. "Please. I miss you enough as it is." She abruptly slapped a hand to her mouth, and Elsa felt an indulgent smile curl on her lips. Anna colored fiercely, and the blonde curiously lifted slender fingers up to touch at the blush.

She felt the strangest urge to cool it down, and with her magic so readily licking at her fingertips, she almost did. Momentarily revolted, she dropped her hand.

"I wonder what it's like to live in their world," Kristoff said through a mouthful of chips. Elsa yanked her eyes away from Anna's and felt that she could finally breathe. _What you do to me... _"I'm pretty sure they forgot we were even here."

Rapunzel poked her head up from Eugene's shoulder. "Leave them alone, Kristoff," she huffed. "Maybe it's a good thing that they learned how to ignore everyone if all you do is _stare _at them."

Kristoff buried his hand back into the chip bag. "I'm just saying."

Anna stretched an arm out and flailed a hand at the back of his head. "Well, Kristoff, I'm _just saying _that you're rude, so stop staring." The blush had returned, and Elsa smiled at the sight of it. She was certain Anna blushed more in a day than Elsa had in her entire life.

She clambered out of Anna's embrace and stood. "I have to leave soon," she said quietly, extending a hand toward Anna. "See me out?"

A chorus of goodbyes followed their departure.

Anna locked her arm around Elsa's as they walked, and the blonde almost wished she could have pulled away. It would be so much harder to walk away from Anna if they weren't touching. Still, though, she relished the attention and felt the desire to punish herself at the same time.

Pushing out of the rec room and into the dorm foyer, Elsa turned to Anna, prying the redhead's fingers from her arm and raised them to her lips, touching each fingertip to her mouth. _So much for restraint. _

Anna's eyelids drooped. Elsa smiled winningly. "I'll see you soon, okay?" she said. Anna's hand fell to her side, but she nodded. Elsa glanced over her shoulder at the pounding rain that was coating the campus in slick dread. "Maybe an hour or two."

Anna's warm hands drew her back and down into moist perfection. Dazed, Elsa pulled away, though the goofy smile on her face couldn't have been swiped away.

"Soon," Anna said, pink tongue sweeping across her swollen lips.

Elsa nodded, gulping down a shaky breath. "Soon."

* * *

Elsa stood before the ominous doors of her childhood home. The wind was whipping at her fiercely, but she couldn't feel the bite of it. She'd never been able to feel the bite of wind. Rain pelted from every direction, and she knew its origin to be her own doing. She supposed it could be worse, because there hadn't been any snow (even if Rapunzel would have argued otherwise). All in all, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, in her opinion.

But it still warranted a meeting.

She knocked tentatively, willing with all her strength that her parents would simply be out, perhaps even gone for an extended vacation and she wouldn't see them for another year. Yes, that would be preferable. Maybe somewhere tropical where they wouldn't have to worry about their eccentric daughter.

Frost began to web up the door where her hand had been resting. She watched, oddly fascinated, as it crept into the wood and hissed up the grand doorknob. She pulled her hand away slowly, wisps of snow flaking off her fingers.

The door creaked open, lavish light blinding her vision. And after her eyes adjusted, she frowned.

Hans. Of course.

His hand was outstretched, though gloved. A precautionary step. Elsa wasn't sure if she felt offended or not, because she knew the danger that waited underneath her skin. In all that Hans was, he was nothing if not logical.

She brushed by him, a perverse satisfaction in her smile.

"Elsa." A sigh. "_Elsa_." His hand gripped her elbow, touch warm, familiar. She spun on him, knocking him away, hysteria rising in her chest.

"Don't touch me."

He peered down at her, caught between a strange combination of disgust and worry. "I won't, Elsa. I won't." He examined his arm, frowning severely at the ice that had shot up his wrist.

_So much for the gloves._

She found her parents in her step father's office, backs facing her as they stared at the television. She knocked softly against the door frame. She rested her weight on it, because all the fight had been spurred on and out of her. Helen turned to her first with a hand covering her mouth as though to bar the words away behind her lips.

"Elsa..."

She looked up at Erik, the man whose visage was reflected so perfectly in his son. She felt a tight knot of revulsion settle in her stomach. She wanted to vomit.

Her fingers twitched against the magic that vibrated in the pads of her fingers. _Not here, not now. _

"Elsa," Helen said, stepping forward. Erik dropped a hand on her shoulder, jaw clenched, and Elsa saw the fear in his eyes and it _hurt_. Helen shrugged way her husband's hand, outstretching her arms and enclosing them around her daughter. She couldn't remember the last time her mother had hugged her. She almost wanted to push her away.

"Did you do this?" Erik asked, and Elsa had to snuff out a laugh. _Who do you think could have done it?_

"Erik," Helen warned. _Why are you suddenly in my corner? You've never been before. _

"No, Helen," Erik said, voice hard. The older woman shrunk back, flinching as if he had struck her. "You remember the last time this happened; you remember what we had to cover up." He turned to Elsa, jabbing a finger at her. "We've had to give up so many opportunities because you couldn't just _control yourself_!"

Elsa felt numb.

"Corona, the Isles..." he ranted, pacing back and forth. "And now _here_. _Again_. When is this going to end? We've spent so much time and money trying to keep people from knowing, but everywhere you go, you bring that curse with you!"

"Erik, she's been reigning it in for years!" Helen said, edging her way to stand in his path. "She had a slip up, and a minor one at that! It's just weather! It's not like... like Corona."

He laughed, and Elsa shivered at the sound of it. "It's not like they're isolated incidents, Helen. Ever since Corona, they've gotten worse and worse. She can't control it and she never has been able to. I warned you of this. I warned you and I warned you and I fucking _warned _you. She's a _monster_, Helen."

The harsh slap rattled in Elsa's ears. She blinked away her disbelief, though her heart gave a valiant shudder in her chest. Helen stared down at her hand as if it wasn't hers, and Erik palmed his reddened cheek, eyes wide.

Helen wrapped her arms around herself. "Elsa, you should go." The twin pair of Elsa's eyes gazed back at her and she found herself nodding. Erik looked as if he wanted to protest, but was silenced by the venomous look his wife had turned on him. Instead, he sneered at her, looking nothing like the kind man he used to be, the man that Elsa had once loved like he was of her own blood.

"Get out."

So she did.

Hans was waiting for her, but she couldn't say she was surprised. He'd foregone the gloves this time, though he cradled his arm against his chest. She knew that she should have felt bad, perhaps even going as far as to apologize, but she couldn't force herself to do it. Whatever she had ever felt for Hans had long since evaporated. He wasn't her brother. He was just like Erik. He _was_ Erik.

He stepped forward, looking at her beneath furrowed brows. "Elsa, please." He stepped in front of the front doors, his good hand splayed before her. "Just hold on."

She closed her eyes. _Count to ten. _A beat. "What do you want, Hans?"

"I want to talk," he implored. "I heard what happened."

She glared, fists clenching at her sides. "Then talk," she spat. "Talk about how your father thinks I'm inhuman, how I'm a monster that deserves to be caged." Frost began to slowly creep along the walls, and Hans' form quivered at the drop in temperature. "Go on. Say how you feel, Hans."

He shook his head from side to side. "I _don't _feel like that, Elsa. Don't you get it? I've never thought you were a monster, and I never will." He took a step forward, flinching when ice splintered and cracked around them.

She felt like laughing and crying all at once. "Never? Your memory is short."

He jerked away, his back slamming against the door. His injured arm (now thawed) was forgotten as he looked away from her. "Don't, Elsa."

"No, Hans," she said, heart hammering in her chest and anger splitting up her throat. "You can act like it never happened, but it _did_. That's not something I am ever going to forget."

She reached out and snatched up his hands, spreading her fingers along the scars lining his knuckles. Faint crescents and the indentations of teeth that had pierced his flesh were scattered along the backs of his hands and on his palms. She pointed to his right pinky finger and where it had been halved by her own teeth.

"Elsa," he begged, pulling his hands away, pulling himself away, "stop."

She opened her mouth to retort, perhaps even let out a sob, but he roughly slapped a hand over her lips. She began to back pedal, fear consuming and prickling every inch of her skin. The ice was roaring inside of her, itching to be released, but it manifested elsewhere. The mansion shuddered and creaked as sleet hammered against the windowpanes.

"Just _stop_," Hans said, giving her a bodily shake. "I'm not trying to _hurt _you, Elsa. I never meant to hurt you. I never have!"

She slumped in his arms, and they both tumbled to the floor in a heap.

Outside, the weather's intensity dulled, but lightning continued to crack and rain soaked everything finely.

Neither spoke for a long moment.

Finally, Hans pulled away as he seemed to remember that she wasn't overly fond of him touching her. In the back of her mind, she thanked him for it. He rubbed tiredly at his face.

"I don't even know why I'm taking this out on you," she muttered, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"Someone has to be the punching bag," he said, and she could hear the incredulous smile in his voice. He mimed her position, though it looked odd in his tailored suit. "Can I ask... why – if you know – this happened? The weather, I mean. There hasn't been an incident in so many years, but now..."

Elsa had to admire the irony of it all. The girl who had made her life so much brighter, who had dragged her out of her own exile, was the cause. And Hans, in a way. The combination of both of them and the rapid change of Elsa's life spiraled into this whole mess of delight and fear.

"It's Anna," she said. "I was so used living without feeling. She came along and turned everything on its head." She hugged her knees tighter to her chest. "Whatever tenuous control I had over my emotions is gone, Hans, and she's why."

* * *

For the third time that day, Elsa stood in front of another door. Anna's door.

She braced her hands on the door frame, bowing her head. She had inadvertently lied again in saying that she would return early, because the "hour or two" estimation had turned into five, then six. Anna had texted sporadically, her tone worried even through those short messages. Elsa hadn't responded. She hadn't been able to face Anna, not when she was so choked up with her own feelings.

She didn't deserve Anna's pity.

So she crawled back to her dorm, took a fitful nap, studied a few chapters for each of her classes. It didn't take the ache away. The only thing that could soothe her was Anna, though she was loathe to admit it. She began to rely so heavily on Anna's comfort that it frightened her. The catalyst to her upheaval was also her solution, but she was afraid to reach out and accept what Anna had begun to so readily give to her.

She bumped her head against the door, and her heart seized when she heard Anna's frantic footsteps. It brought a smile to her face.

Anna ripped the door open, a cry of relief filling the air as she threw herself into Elsa's arms.

"Why didn't you _call_?" Anna demanded. "Or at least text me back? Elsa, I thought something had happened to you!"

"I'm sorry," Elsa murmured, breathing in the scent of Anna's hair, hands memorizing familiar patterns along the redhead's back. "I got distracted." _Oh, what a believable excuse. _

Anna fixed her with a glare. "No, you don't get to do that." She pulled the blonde into her room, clicking the door shut behind them. "Sit," she ordered, pointing to her bed. Elsa complied with a smile, obediently settling herself on the cot. Anna bent down, resting on her knees before Elsa, taking pale hands in hers. Elsa's heart sped up in her chest.

"You go to your parents', say you're going to be gone for a few hours, then end up being gone a lot longer than you promised and refusing to reply back to me when I call you." Anna peered up at her with earnest eyes, wide and willing to listen. "Something happened, didn't it?"

Elsa bowed her head, nodding slowly. She couldn't stand lying anymore, not when Anna was so terribly sweet. It tore at her far more than it ever imagined it would, and she was surprised to find tears welling in her eyes. "My parents and I had a disagreement," she said hollowly. "Hans was there..." she trailed off, voice cracking, and she smashed down the desire to recoil from Anna's embrace when it wound around her. She gave a watery smile. "It didn't end well."

Anna peppered her face in kisses, and Elsa never felt so wholly wanted in her entire life.

"I'm here, Elsa. I'll always be here."

Maybe that was the problem.


	6. Relentlessly

Sorry about last chap, but it was necessary. Here's an olive branch.

* * *

The next week passed in slow motion. Well, not really, but Anna was damn sure it felt like it. Classes began to drag on and on, and all the while, all she could think of was Elsa. The blonde had become something of a staple in Anna's rational brain (or irrational, anymore). She tried to be as kind and respect Elsa's space, because if it had been her, she would have wanted the same.

_Oh, let's be real, here. You probably would have sucked up any amount of time Elsa devoted to you, even if was overlapping other plans, and you'd have done it with a smile on your face because she's so _dreamy... _Okay, let's phase that word out of your vocabulary, because you sound like a complete jackass. _

Right.

Still, she tried to be as persistent as she could without being annoying. Elsa's behavior worried her, and that was totally unlike what she had been used to. Though, admittedly, the time they had spent together was short, in truth. It had only been a few weeks, what with the semester having started in late August. Now, almost nearing the end of September, they had only known each other a short while. It wasn't enough time for Anna to have memorized all of Elsa's little quirks.

However, it didn't take a genius to figure out that Elsa was acting oddly. Sure, Anna recognized that Elsa was a natural recluse. She had no problem with that, because she tended to bring out a whole lot of gibberish to the table to fill the silences. But to have Elsa ignore _her_, well, that didn't sit right with the redhead. So, she began to fret. And Anna didn't fret like normal people. No, she pored over what could have happened to incite such a response in the Elsa she had come to know, even if it didn't make any sense.

Because if Anna was anything, it wasn't sensible.

_Too affectionate? Not affectionate enough? What if she doesn't like how I drink things and it totally disgusted her? Oh, I know! She doesn't like how I trip. If you're gonna trip, at least do it with some grace. I _don't _trip gracefully. God. No, no; that couldn't be it. What if she thinks that I think we're going too fast? I mean, she kind of initiates all of our... relations. Relations? Too clinical. _Wait. _Does she think I'm not devoted to her, or something? Or the opposite? You know what, me? It had to be the other day when I sneezed on her. _

She was lost. And she wasn't trying to be overly dramatic or anything like that, but she still felt a bit hurt that Elsa hadn't at least explained herself before turning away. She saw the blonde on campus, so at least she wasn't neglecting her studies. For a while, that appeased Anna, because if Elsa was still devoting time to her schooling, then maybe whatever was going on between herself and Anna would be smoothed over with time.

It still hurt.

Perhaps Anna had become too greedy. She coveted Elsa and she wasn't afraid to admit it. She liked everything about the blonde. Did the redhead make an error in presuming Elsa wouldn't take all of that away from her?

_You're even starting to sound like her, you sap._

It was unfair. Anna couldn't have even been bothered with the fact that it sounded immature. She felt _gipped_. What right did Elsa have to completely shut down their relationship (_god, were we even considered girlfriends?_) without talking with Anna? It just wasn't _nice_. Anna hadn't done anything to deserve the cold shoulder. Maybe Elsa deemed their relationship casual enough to be shelved when she felt it necessary, but Anna was _not fucking happy_ with that choice being decided for her.

_I'd confront her if I could, but all she does is run from me._

And, no, Anna wasn't exaggerating. Elsa practically _bolted _whenever she spotted Anna. Anna had to contain choked laughter the first few times she saw it, even if it wounded her pride and made her feel like overall shit. _I didn't think she could run that fast. She could be in track if she wanted to._

She didn't chase after Elsa. Her heart would clench every time, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Elsa obviously didn't want to talk to her. God, Elsa didn't even want to _look _at her, and that alone left a deep ache in Anna's chest and had hot anger sitting in her throat. _What did I _do, _Elsa? Why are you pushing me away? _

And what made it all worse? Anna still waited for Elsa.

Anna would always wait for Elsa.

Didn't Elsa like her? Didn't they have good chemistry? _Didn't this, didn't that... _Anna certainly had a different outlook on a lot of things, but that didn't make her a ditz. She had a fairly good grasp on when people liked her (barring Merida, but that had been an _entirely _different issue). Of all the people she knew, Elsa latched on to her quicker than any of her friends. Kristoff hadn't even been that forthcoming with her.

_Why don't you just grow up, Anna? Get over it. She doesn't want you. She was never obligated to tell you if the relationship was over. She doesn't _owe _you anything. What does Kristoff always say? "Man up." _

But Anna wasn't the type of person who gave up.

She wouldn't try to force Elsa to be with her. If Elsa truly wanted to end whatever their relationship was, then so be it. _God, stab me in the fucking heart, why don't you? _Anna could respect Elsa's wishes, even if she didn't understand them and had no intention of _wanting _to understand them. She just wanted an explanation. Maybe a "goodbye," or something. Anything was better than the silent treatment she was receiving.

Some riotous part of her wanted this all to end. She liked Elsa so, so much. Why did this have to happen? Everything had seemed fine. Suddenly, the rug was ripped out from under her feet and she fell flat on her ass, disoriented and peering up at the blonde goddess she couldn't get out of her head. And to make matters worse, when she tried to rationalize it, she couldn't do it. It didn't _matter _that she'd only known Elsa for nearly a month. She didn't want to cut her ties.

She didn't want to be let go.

* * *

Temperatures had begun to rise once again in Arendelle. The sudden frigidity had blown in and gusted out in the span of a week. Anna wasn't an expert on weather, but those types of conditions at the end of summer didn't seem normal. Of course, if that was how cold it got in summer, she didn't even want to know how the winter would play out. She could practically _hear _Rapunzel's groaning.

"Anna, are you even listening to me?"

Oh, so that actually _was_ Rapunzel.

She met Rapunzel's impatient glare with a grimace. "Sorry, what?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "I _said_... ugh – forget it." She plucked something black off the top of Anna's head, and the redhead recoiled with a squawk. "Get that _away _from me!"

Rapunzel flicked the spider away, a dissatisfied noise coming from the back of her throat. "I mean, you act like you're surprised. I put that on you, like, _ten minutes ago_." She dusted her hands off and squatted next to Anna, wide green eyes shining with something Anna identified as concern. "You went off into your own world there, huh?"

"What gave it away?" Anna asked, pulling up fistfuls of moist grass like it had insulted her mother's honor. Head bowed, eyes drooped, frown resting on her lips – she was the picture of happiness. Rapunzel groaned, throwing herself out beside Anna and kicking her legs up behind her. She peered at Anna for a long moment, neither saying anything. Anna knew that Rapunzel was waiting for her to open up, but she just couldn't find the right words without sounding like an indignant child.

She sighed. "I just wish she would have explained herself before shutting me out," she said, eviscerating the grass with an even greater ferocity. "Instead, she pushed me away and didn't tell me why." _God, do I always sound this pitiful?_

Rapunzel pursed her lips. "You don't love her, do you? Is that why you're so..." she trailed off, cocking her head to the side.

Anna shook her head, though she smiled. "Eventually? Yes. But right now? No. No, I just like her a lot." She nodded her head, accepting the gravity of her own words. "I just wish I had the chance to get there, y'know?"

Rapunzel sat up, pulling the redhead into her arms. "I know, Anna. I know." She gave Anna a reassuring squeeze. "And she won't talk to you at all?"

Anna huffed. "She acts like I don't even exist, which is really frickin' _rude_. I mean, god, who _does that_? It's not like I have the plague." She furrowed her eyebrows. "At least, I don't _think _I have the plague." She reached over and patted Rapunzel's head fondly. "If I do, you do too."

Rapunzel hummed. "Damn." She idly stroked back the hair in Anna's eyes. "Are you going to talk to her? She can't ignore you forever."

"Oh, I'm sure she believes she can," Anna grumbled. "I was thinking of sneaking up on her. If she saw me out in the open, she'd probably run away and vault over a bench or something. By the way, did you know she was that athletic? She can sprint pretty fast."

Rapunzel chuckled against her. "She's _running_ from you?"

Anna nodded her head, relieved that someone else thought Elsa's actions were a little ridiculous. "Just flat out runs like I'm a serial killer in a horror movie. I'm not that scary, am I?"

"No," Rapunzel said innocently. Anna pushed at Rapunzel's shoulder roughly, an amused smirk coiling on her lips. "Shut up, 'Punzel." She rested back comfortably in the older woman's arms, and in the back of her head, she imagined them to be Elsa's.

_Please leave your dignity at the door. _

"Would it be too much if I tackled her?"

"Try a method that doesn't involve a restraining order."

"What if I wait for her outside of one of her classes? The lecture room in King's Hall only has one exit. I could ambush her – like a lion – and pounce upon her, the wounded gazelle. She would be paralyzed with fear, enough so that I could swoop in with my charms and bite into her tender flesh."

"Gross imagery. Plus, I don't think she'll respond well to being publicly embarrassed."

"Elsa doesn't get embarrassed, Rapunzel! This is the perfect plan."

"I don't think so. Did you try calling her?"

A pause.

"Sorry. Bad suggestion."

"I know."

"What if _I _talk to her, Anna? I'll get her attention and you'll show up while she's distracted."

"Do you even speak to her regularly?"

"...No, but I could find an excuse to!"

"Something tells me that she'll see through that."

Rapunzel slumped back, defeated. Anna collapsed on top of her with a muffled laugh, though it sounded a little forced even to her ears. "What am I gonna do, Rapunzel?"

Rapunzel hugged her tightly. "You could move on," she said softly. "It's not good when you have to crock up a bunch of ideas on how to approach a person who doesn't even want to talk to you." Anna flinched, squirming in Rapunzel's grip, but it stayed firm. "No, you have to listen to this, Anna. For whatever reason, Elsa has decided to ignore you. If she can do that to someone she cares about and who cares about her in return, then maybe she isn't in your best interest."

"Rapunzel-"

"Anna," she said, giving the redhead a little shake. "I'm sorry, okay? I _am_. But I hate seeing you like this."

Anna didn't want to believe Rapunzel's words. They just hurt too damn much to make any sense in her mind. "I wish I didn't feel this way," she said, curling into herself as if it would mask the ice in her heart. "Everything was going so _well_, and then she got back the other night, crying and telling me that she had a bad talk with her parents... I-I just... I tried to do everything _right_. She always told me that I didn't need to feel like I was lesser than she was-"

"Because you're _not_, Anna," Rapunzel interrupted, eyes hard. "She's no better than you are."

"I _know_ that. She told me herself, and I believed it already," Anna said, willing herself not to cry. "I just wanted to comfort her. She seemed so upset. I thought everything was okay, but then she ran off after a whole five minutes in my room." She buried her face into Rapunzel's neck. "I don't know what I did, Rapunzel. How could I have messed that up?"

Rapunzel rested a comforting hand on Anna's back. "Elsa has always been protective of her privacy, Anna. Before you two became friends, I had only spoken to her a few times. You get that vibe from her right away. She has baggage, and maybe she just doesn't know how to deal with it. If she's pushing you away, then I think she's having a hard time dealing with whatever is going on in her life."

A watery giggle rose up in Anna's throat. "God, I sound like the hopeless woman in some romance novel and Elsa's my mysterious love interest." She pulled back from Rapunzel, swiping a hand under her eyes to capture the tears before they fell. "Am I overreacting, Rapunzel? Y'know, for feeling this way about a woman I've known for a month?"

Rapunzel smiled, shaking her head slowly. "No, I don't think you're overreacting. Elsa... opened up to you more than anyone else at this campus, and for good reason, too." She cupped Anna's face and smacked a noisy kiss her forehead. "Because you're an amazing person, Anna. Elsa saw that in you. The most reclusive, infamous student at this campus opened up to a little freshman, and I think that's pretty impressive." She widened her smile. "You can't fault yourself for falling for her charm. I mean, _Jesus_, have you _seen _her?"

Anna grinned. "I have."

Rapunzel dropped her hands into her lap. "Confront her, Anna," she said, nodding. "Don't try to sneak up on her or scare her or chase her. Just walk up to her and work it out. Elsa's direct, so maybe she'll respond better to that approach."

"I love you, you know that, Rapunzel?"

"I love you too, Anna."

* * *

"Okay, Anna. You can do this. You are the woman. Elsa is just another woman (with great hips). Just find her and confront her. It's easy. Simple. Bam, over with. Even if she tears your heart in half, you won't care. Well, you'll actually care, but you won't _show _it, because you don't want to look like some sort of desperate little girl. Yeah. Just confront her, get dumped, and try to get out of there with a little bit of class and without crying like a bitch."

Anna nodded to her reflection. _Good pep talk. _

That only left actually _finding _Elsa.

While the campus was small, there were still many places the blonde could have ended up. Her dorm, the park, and the library were the obvious choices. At 5pm, there was little light, so it seemed unlikely that she would be in the park. Elsa had told her that she was rarely in her dorm besides to sleep, so that left the library.

Of course, she might not even be on campus and Anna could just end up wandering around like a moron for an hour. That seemed probable.

She strolled around the park for about twenty minutes. Few people were out, and not even the sun's dwindling light could have spotted a platinum blonde among them. She swore at herself for not bringing a jacket. During the day, it was relatively warm, like how September was supposed to be. At night, however, it turned incredibly bitter. Unnaturally bitter, if she were honest. She loved winter, but this sudden drop in temperature put a harsh end to her summer.

She stopped at the walkway to Elsa's dorm, eyes drawn up to the lights coming from the windows. No, she didn't expect Elsa to be there. So, she turned on her heel and headed for the library. As she walked, she tried to formulate any sort of plan. She didn't know what she wanted to say or how she would even respond to what Elsa would have in return. She supposed anything that wasn't babbling – a long shot – would be preferable.

_Or I'm just entirely screwed if she decides to not even talk to me._

Pushing the library doors aside, she rubbed her hands together, trying to generate some friction. It felt colder in the library than it was outside. "Do they have the AC on in here?" she muttered, shivering. The attendant at the checkout counter gave her a small wave as she passed by him. She glanced around the library, a little more than disappointed to find it empty.

She padded over to her "Concussion Table," pulling the nearest chair back and falling into it. _Well, this was a bust. _She wouldn't even bother to check at Elsa's dorm, because she wasn't really in the mood to have a door slammed in her face if Elsa happened to be there.

She crossed her arms on the table and rested her chin on them, flicking idly at the threads on her sleeves. _What now? _

She was exhausted. She'd attended three classes today, went for a jog, and mourned over her failed relationship. She felt like she deserved a long shower and and even longer night's sleep. Curling up into a fetal position and gorging herself on chocolate felt like it could have solved all of her problems in that exact moment.

She stood, raising a hand to her mouth to muffle her loud yawn. _Pack it up, Anna. _

But Elsa pushed through the library doors, head bowed over a book, and Anna's stomach dropped to her feet. Her hands automatically outstretched, fingers splayed wide as if to raise a white flag of surrender. Her breath caught in her throat, but she still managed to stammer out Elsa's name. The blonde started, her book almost falling out of her hands. Icy eyes widened, gazing back into teal counterparts that held a similar reaction. Anna took a hesitant step forward, as if Elsa were a wild animal ready to flee.

"Elsa, please," she said, biting down on her lip at how needy she sounded. "Can we talk? _Please_."

"A-Anna..." Elsa looked like she was in pain, and Anna had to stifle an outraged noise at the reception she was receiving. What did she _do _to deserve this type of treatment? Anger blossomed tightly in her chest.

"Talk to me, Elsa," she demanded, stepping closer, foregoing all of her clumsy poise. She was absolutely fucking _furious_. "Stop running away from me."

_Did it get even _colder _in here?_

Elsa clutched her book to her chest, white knuckles practically translucent in the grip she had on it. It was strange to see her look so unsure of herself. The composure she wore like a shawl had melted away, leaving a broken woman in its wake.

"Anna," she said, voice breathy. "I can't do this here. I can't do this at all."

"You're going to have to _try_," Anna said. "You're acting like I don't even exist and I want to know why that is." She stepped forward, close enough that she was glaring up at the older woman. "What's going on with you, Elsa? Why are you treating me like _shit_? Did I do something to you? Say something wrong? Did I breathe improperly? What? Tell me what it is that made you push me away like I'm _nothing _to you!"

Elsa's jaw clenched rapidly, her eyes flickering back and forth between Anna's. The redhead gazed up and all she saw was fear.

_Elsa was terrified._

She reached out, her anger fizzling just a little. She peeled the book out of Elsa's frigid fingers, dropping it on the nearest table with a _thunk. _Elsa jumped at the noise, one hand reaching up to settle at her mouth, and Anna swore she saw a sparkling of _something _just at the end of Elsa's fingertips.

Anna found her own hands to be trembling as they reached out to touch Elsa, though she wasn't sure why. _I just screamed at her and now I'm attempting to comfort her. Go figure._

Elsa seemed to snap out of her daze as Anna's hands drew closer. She took a stumbling step back, shaking her head wildly. "Don't touch me, Anna. Just... just don't."

The rejection slapped her in the face harder than any palm could. Her hands dropped limply to her sides. "Why can't I touch you?" she asked, horrified to find her voice drowning in the onset of tears. "I can't talk to you, I can't touch you, I can't look at you... Why?"

Elsa's arms wrapped around herself in a protective embrace. Her shoulders began to shake with the rest of her. "You just can't," she said, voice so soft Anna struggled to hear her. "I'm sorry, Anna."

Anna shook her head, tears splattering down onto the carpet. "No, you're not."

"I _am_," Elsa said. "You have no idea how sorry I am."

"Then tell me why!" Her voice cracked with emotion, a sob just barely contained. "Tell me why you get to kick me out of your life. How is that fair to me? How is that fair to _us_?"

Elsa let out a shuddering breath. "It isn't fair. I know it's not, Anna."

Anna buried her head in her hands. "What gives you the right, Elsa?"

"I-I _don't _have the right..."

Anna peered up through her tears, her spine quaking with the weight of her cries. "Then why are we doing this?" she implored. "If it isn't fair to either of us, why does it have to happen?"

Elsa's eyes darkened. "I'm protecting you from me," she said, and something like glass cracked along the rim of the table. Anna looked down, curiosity drawing her eye. Was that... _ice_... on the table? She looked up, teetering backwards in shock as Elsa tore out of the library door. Anna looked back down at the ice where it had crept up over Elsa's book, and she suddenly realized what it was Elsa meant.

She scooped up Elsa's book and ran after her.

_Elsa could certainly make it in track or cross country. Anything with running. Good god, I think my lungs are going to explode and I've only been sprinting for ten seconds. _

"Elsa, stop!" she called, throat ripped raw from exertion and outright yelling. At least Elsa trailed a faint line of frost behind her, because she was soon out of Anna's sight with how fast she was going and how Anna slugged behind her like a goddamn troll.

"Elsa," she gasped, slowing to a stop, nearly bent over. Air begun to slap against her skin, stealing her breath. She hobbled, squeezing the book to her chest to buffer some of the wind. Head bowed, she gritted her teeth against it, pushing on and following the frost. _I can't give up on her now, not when she's so vulnerable. Get your ass in gear, Anna. Move._

It was so cold. She was trapped in the winter Elsa had created and it trailed along her flesh, sending dizzying goosebumps across the skin. Dressed in only jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and tennis shoes, she battled against the fierce wind even though it cut through the fabric like it was nothing.

The frost ended, but the wind howled. She fell to her knees, cradling the book to her chest. _Where is she? I can't see her. Where did she go? _

"Elsa!"

Cold, cold hands on her shoulders. Her entire body trembled from the combination of harsh gales and gentle touches. She raised her head up, crying out in relief to find Elsa before her, lip bitten.

"You forgot your book, Elsa."


	7. Endure

Geez, guys. Your generous support of this fic never ceases to amaze me. Thank you. Also, I realize these last few chapters have been pretty heavy, but I'm a lot more comfortable writing angst over humor since I'm not that funny to begin with. Sorry! Here's the _real _olive branch.

EDIT: I understand there was a lot of confusion with this chapter. My fault and a little bit of FF's fault. I took the chapter down because of a scene transition that didn't work out and re-posted it, but apparently a lot of people could not see the changes, nor could they even see the chapter in some cases. I'm not sure what the reason for this is, but I'm going to try _again _to post the edited chapter. I am beyond sorry for the problems this chapter has been having. If you have any more questions or issues, please, don't hesitate to PM me.

* * *

Anna couldn't feel her fingers. Clutched around Elsa's book in a death grip, they had a slightly purplish hue about them. She was certain her toes looked similar. Well, maybe even _all _of her, because she couldn't move. And she really, really wanted to move.

Elsa's touch was painful, but Anna welcomed it. She had agonized over never being able to feel and admire Elsa's hands ever again. Now, with snow whirling around the them, Anna was thankful. Call her strange, perhaps even a little crazy, but she loved Elsa's hands. They stung her skin and sent icy patterns all across her body, but she found herself not even giving a damn.

"Anna," Elsa said, her fingers creeping along to cup Anna's jaw in a frigid clasp. The blonde hesitated, her eyes wide with anxiety, and Anna saw the fight within them. It tore at her, gnawed at her gut, set her teeth to clench. The fraction of fear that Elsa had shown, intentionally or not, was nothing in comparison to what Anna _knew _raged around them.

Elsa's hands withdrew, and Anna almost protested if not for the tender hush Elsa placed upon her lips.

All of Elsa's kisses were cold, but the feeling she put behind each and every one was enough to melt them. What she presented in her outward appearance was nothing like the fire she infused into her mouth and tongue. Anna had enjoyed a wide array of the types of Elsa's kisses.

This was different.

Anna could feel it. Rising desperation in the insistence of Elsa's mouth against hers. The too firm touch, fingers gripping flesh enough so that it burned on Anna's frostbitten skin. _I'm here, Elsa. I'm not going anywhere. _The self-loathing in how Elsa's hands tugged at her, struggling whether or not to push her away or drag her closer. Anna could _feel _it.

"I'm so sorry, Anna," Elsa whispered, shaking her head, glittering tears falling and frosting over in a matter of seconds. "I couldn't – I _tried_..." She choked on a sob, and Anna felt one of her own getting caught in her throat. "I couldn't stay away," Elsa continued, voice so suddenly laced with venom that Anna recoiled. "I wanted... so much, but I couldn't control myself." Elsa trembled, but Anna knew it had nothing to do with the cold. "I'm _sorry_."

_Stop apologizing to me. You didn't do anything wrong. You are _perfect.

All the words she wanted to say, but she couldn't force them out.

"I told you that we were equal," Elsa said, though she smiled. Anna couldn't bear to look at it, not when she knew what it meant. "I lied to you," she continued, eyes full of self-hatred, but Anna couldn't bring herself to look away. "You are so good, Anna. I can never be like you."

Anna wanted to shout. _Scream_. Deny it and everything else. _Who did this to you, Elsa? Who _ruined _you?_

"'You're no less than me and I'm no more than you,'" Anna said through chattering teeth. "I believe in that. I believe in _you_."

Elsa's eyes slid shut. "You shouldn't."

Anna pushed up stiffened fingers, grabbing Elsa's jaw and forcing her gaze down. "Listen to me, Elsa." She shook the blonde's jaw a little. In her mind, she begged. "You don't get to do this to yourself. You just _don't_. Do you know what it's like to see someone you care about tear themselves down like they're _nothing_? You don't see what I see." She edged forward, demanding her cold limbs to cooperate. Knees against knees, hands on faces, eyes meeting eyes. "I see an amazing woman, Elsa. I see her and I am honored to be a part of her life."

Elsa shook her head. "You don't know what I'm capable of, Anna." The flurry around them blew faster and stole away the moisture in Anna's eyes. "You don't know what I've done," Elsa said, voice so low with agony that Anna felt like crumbling. "What I will continue to _do_ because I'm weak."

"You aren't-"

"I _am_!" Elsa shouted, and it rattled in Anna's bones. She yanked herself away, fingers weaving into her blonde tresses and harshly tugging. Anna sat, unable to move, paralyzed with sorrow, as Elsa became undone before her.

"I'm a monster, Anna," she said, as if it was revelation. Wide blue eyes found teal, and Anna's heart seized ruthlessly against her ribcage. "I hurt people." Elsa's chest heaved as she took in unnecessary breaths, and the redhead willed her limbs to move. Elsa continued to tug viciously at her hair, moving disjointedly back and forth, so much like the snow that crested above them.

"I'll hurt you," Elsa whispered. "That's why I stayed away. I can't let that happen. I _won't_."

Anna raised herself up, clenching her teeth against the chill that had enveloped her body. "You could never hurt me, Elsa."

Elsa laughed hollowly. "I'm hurting you right now," she said, eyes roving across Anna's blue-tinted limbs. "Look at what I've done to you."

Anna tenderly pulled at Elsa's hands, freeing them from their grip on the blonde's hair. "What have you done to me, Elsa?" She held Elsa's pale, slender hands, unable to actually feel them in her frozen grip, but the weight was enough. "Tell me."

"Your... your _hands_, Anna..." Elsa's horrified gasp was soul-wrenching, but Anna stayed firm. Elsa had to understand. "Oh, god..."

"Help me, then," Anna said softly. "I know you can."

Elsa shook her head back and forth. "_Elsa_," Anna implored.

"No, no, no..."

"Elsa," she said, and something in Anna's tone had Elsa's gaze slowly raising, settling back within the comforting depths of Anna's eyes. "Please."

And Elsa nodded.

Elsa handled Anna as if she were glass. The shaking in her hands and the panic in her eyes had receded, and Anna felt hot pride in chest at the sight of the breathtaking woman she had come to know. She felt like she were one of the complex sentences in Elsa's advanced text books. She was something to be deciphered and solved.

_Elsa, I'm not that complicated. Don't over think it._

"I believe in you, Elsa," she said quietly, smiling even though it cracked open her lips in the wind. She tasted the blood in her mouth but she still smiled. _You are worth more than this._

Elsa looked up at Anna, pausing in her intense concentration. "You are adorable," she said, though her throat was full of tears. Anna let out a choked laugh, tears leaking out of her eyes with the force of a tidal wave.

"There you are."

The absence of the cold was surprisingly hot. Blood began flowing into her extremities, the burn slow. All at once and not at all, she wanted Elsa's touch. She didn't want to ask for it – not for fear of overwhelming Elsa – but it tore at her to keep quiet. Who she wanted was right before her; broken, trembling, and scared. The line had been drawn by Elsa herself, and only Elsa could cross back over it.

Anna waited.

Elsa stared down at Anna's hands, seemingly fascinated with the blood rushing back into the flesh. She traced along the veins with tentative care, off in her own world where the paths lead to somewhere only Elsa knew. She turned Anna's hands over, gently swiping across the callouses from Anna's childhood, stretching her cold caress up every structure.

At once, Anna understood.

Elsa was savoring every second.

Anna's breath caught, the tears returned, her knees shook. She felt something knot up in her chest, something hard and soft. Elsa looked up at her, smiling the same kind smile Anna had first seen Elsa wear, and she was overcome. Elsa guided Anna into her arms, pressing at the back of Anna's neck, urging the younger woman to find comfort between Elsa's neck and shoulder. Anna secured her arms around Elsa's waist, breathing in the familiar scent of the older woman's skin. Elsa tucked her chin over Anna's head, humming something indecipherable but pleasant nonetheless.

"I missed you," Anna murmured.

Elsa's hand at Anna's neck curved up, scratching at Anna in a spot that made her shudder. "I know," Elsa said softly. "I missed you, too." She held Anna tighter, and the redhead found that the intensity of the embrace didn't compare to any of their others. Elsa was holding her tighter, closer, and with more confidence than she ever had.

_She's not afraid of hurting me._

"I don't want to walk away from you tonight," Anna said, and she meant it. She didn't have the strength to.

Elsa pressed her lips against Anna's forehead. "You don't have to."

She found her hands sliding along the fabric of Elsa's shirt, a bite on her lip and a heavy breath behind her teeth. Elsa cocked her head to the side, peering down at Anna with eyes that shone for so much more. "What are you doing, Anna?" Elsa asked, her hands stilling on Anna's, gently tugging them away. Anna curled her fingers around Elsa's, bringing them to her lips and brushing soft kisses against them. Elsa's breath caught, and for a moment, Anna thought she might pull her hands away. Her eyes, deeply blue and deeply curious, met hers and kept them there.

"I need this," Anna said, though her voice held a tremor. "I need you."

Elsa swallowed, her breath rushing out in a sigh. "You have me." She kissed Anna slowly, pulling away after a beat. "You have me, Anna."

Anna stepped back, closing her eyes and attempting to contain her blush as she slowly undressed. She hated feeling so exposed, but she would endure it for the sake of Elsa. She could _feel _Elsa's eyes trail across her, igniting something hot within her. She unconsciously wet her lips to fend off her apprehension. Her hands were clasped in front of her, though they continually wrung themselves out. She shifted from foot to foot (the wet grass squelching beneath her feet), swallowing down a dry throat. Her stomach was fixed in a state of falling, like she was on the precipice of a roller coaster's drop and it never came.

"I'm really nervous," she said.

It was obvious.

Elsa smiled, reaching out to sweep a cold finger across Anna's clavicle, looking the complete opposite of Anna's sweaty unease. She had the infuriating capability to never have a hair out of place or a wrinkled item of clothing. Anna almost wished Elsa wasn't so damn enticing, if not to simply settle her riotous nerves. Elsa pulled her hand away, gazing down at it like _that _was magic, and then peeled off her clothing, revealing glorious new territory to Anna's wide eyes.

Elsa took Anna's hands in hers, drawing them down to the wet, thawed earth. She smiled again, conveying her understanding, her acceptance. It was the crooked smile that took hold of Anna's heart and threw it out the window whenever she saw it. Elsa sat cross legged, but it had never looked so composed and regal on anyone else. Anna exhaled through her nose, dropping her knees onto the ground with a faint noise. She crawled forward, close enough to bump her nose with Elsa's (which she did).

"Are you sure?" Elsa whispered, nipping gently at Anna's jaw. "We can wait if it's too much." She leaned back, eyes dark and molten in the light of the moon. Anna's throat constricted when she tried to speak, because Elsa was _here_, asking her if she was comfortable. Elsa wasn't anywhere else; not across the campus at her dorm, not at her parents' mansion... but _here_.

And she wasn't afraid.

"I'm sure," Anna breathed into Elsa's mouth, her hands slowly traveling up the expanse of the blonde's chest to mold over her shoulders and push her down to the ground. Elsa's hands guided her up, settling Anna on her waist, fingers lingering, pressing against skin exposed by heated inquisition. Anna found purchase on Elsa's neck, easing into what she knew, which was that Elsa was incredibly taken with Anna's lips on her sensitive skin.

Elsa's hands began to drift, light and teasing, though they made a shiver run down Anna's spine at the notion of what else they could do. Her touch was cold, as always, but as her fingers trailed up and between Anna's breasts, the redhead was certain they left fire. She whimpered, leaning down and capturing Elsa's lips, urging them apart.

Elsa was intoxicating, so Anna told her so.

"What you do to me," she murmured, grinning against Elsa's tongue as it flicked across her lips. She slid her hand down Elsa's chest, palming each breast with bubbling courage.

Elsa gasped. "That's my line," she said, threading her fingers lower and lower.

"We can share it," Anna insisted, draping her mouth over Elsa's pulse, enjoying the pleasant throb across her slick tongue. Elsa edged a thigh in between Anna's legs, her smirk turning the redhead to gelatin. She sunk forward, hissing out between clenched teeth as Elsa's smooth thigh ran over her sex.

"Fuck."

Elsa quirked a brow. "That was my intention."

Abruptly, Anna was on her back, her moan quieted by Elsa's mouth as one of the blonde's hands replaced her thigh. Deft fingers, cool but not unbearably, worked in between Anna's legs, the first contact just _there _taking away her breath, readily given. She thrust her hips, biting back a whine when they met empty air.

"Elsa, _please_."

The blonde smiled, all icy gazes and honeyed lips. "What do you want, Anna?"

Anna blushed, her eyes darting back and forth between Elsa's. "D-Do I have to _say _it?"

"No," Elsa said, drawing Anna into another long kiss, tongues flicking against one another and conveying what Anna could not voice. They stole away into it, speech falling by the wayside as fingers probed and tweaked and lips grinned and puckered. The coil in Anna's belly tightened and tightened, her gasps absorbed into Elsa's lungs and out again.

The rhythm was disjointed and new, but Anna found it to be perfect in its own way. There was no set pattern, no expectations. Anna only knew what she felt, and what she felt was pleasure from the woman she so desperately craved. As she thrust against Elsa's hand, her mouth falling open with wordless gasps when another finger joined the first, she knew that it was a lust born of something else entirely.

And when she urged her hand between Elsa's trembling thighs, she knew it to be born of something that intended to last.

"What you do to me..."


	8. Hands

We broke 100 reviews and are working toward 400 follows. Wow. Just... wow. Here, take this.

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"I don't even want to think about how many laws we just broke."

Anna winced as she sat up. Wet grass clung to her bare back, sticky and uncomfortable. She brushed it away with impatient hands. "God, it's freezing out here." She squinted up, admiring Elsa as she began redressing. While Anna was certainly cold (if her shivering was anything to go by), she couldn't pass up the opportunity to be a pervert and stare longingly at Elsa.

It felt intimate to watch Elsa dress, even if they'd just had sex. _Sweet god, I had sex with Elsa. _Elsa bent down to tie her boots, peering up at Anna with a soft smile. "What are you thinking about?" _Currently? How it's possible that you can look sexy with or without your clothes. I don't know what I'm attracted to more._

Anna blushed but said nothing.

She began to scoop up her clothes with shaky hands, prying apart the fabrics and shuffling them over her body. The fire in her veins had been extinguished, and now she was cold and tired and sated. And a little achy, too, because her shoulders were impossibly taut as she yanked her shirt down over them. Elsa watched silently, and Anna felt the temperature around them heat up just a little.

_Interesting._

She looked around, a grimace rising on her lips. She couldn't really remember how long and how far she had chased Elsa, but Anna didn't think that they were still on the campus. The only thing she could identify a lamp post about fifty feet away, and its light didn't stretch far. The small meadow they occupied was the only distinguishable part of the area.

"Where are we, Elsa?"

Elsa crouched down and picked up her book, settling it in the crook of one arm as she straightened her spine. She examined the meadow, a thoughtful furrow in her brows. "I'm not sure," she admitted after a long moment. She turned apologetic eyes to Anna. "I had a vague idea on the way here, but you seemed to have gotten turned around and I didn't want to leave you out here by yourself."

Anna nodded, cupping a hand at her chin. "Any familiar landmarks?" she asked, raising an imperious brow up on her forehead. Elsa just rolled her eyes.

"Come on," Elsa said, inclining her head at the lamp post. "There might be a path we can follow back to the park."

Anna linked arms with Elsa, dropping her head against the blonde's shoulder comfortably. She was still terribly cold, and it might have been better if she hadn't touched Elsa at all, but she banished the thought away. She was cold but she was content. The reassuring weight of Elsa's slender shoulder beneath her head, in that moment, was warm yet not, but she couldn't have cared less.

Elsa's arm wrapped around Anna's back, a hand possessively falling at the redhead's hip. She pulled back slightly, aiming a knowing smile at Elsa. "What do you think you're doing?"

The blonde trailed her fingers along Anna's hip, smoothing over fabric and tracing along the juncture of the bone. Her touch was light, delicate. Perhaps she thought that if she used too much pressure, Anna might fade away. The redhead found it hard to breathe under the attention, her words stolen by simple touches and dark eyes flooded with a mixture of emotions so deep that she couldn't even begin to describe them. Anna felt her smile slip; she was far too enraptured by Elsa to keep it there.

"You're the first person that I've gotten close to in over ten years, Anna," Elsa said, voice heavy with something. Grief, maybe. "I can touch you." Elsa's hand slid up. "I can feel you." Soft lips on Anna's forehead. "Are you frightened?"

Anna felt the need to ask, to _demand_, "Are you?"

Elsa smiled. "Yes."

Anna stopped, turning in Elsa's embrace. Under the light of the lamp post, Elsa looked angelic, but Anna knew that the blonde was far from that. "If I was the first person to get close to you in so long, does that make your feelings any more or less genuine?" Anna could not restrain herself from reaching out, thumbs padding along the skin revealed by Elsa's t-shirt.

"It was my choice," Elsa said.

Anna nodded. "This is mine." Elsa's book slid to the ground will a dull noise.

Elsa took Anna's hands in hers, cupping them in cool comfort, bringing them closer to her mouth. Anna watched as her fingers unconsciously stretched, skating along the softness of Elsa's lips and traced along that perfect jawline. "Why do you do that?" she asked, breathless. "You look at my hands. You... why?"

Elsa seemed to ponder this, peeling a thumb away from her jaw and placing a wet kiss on it. The blush that rose in Elsa's cheeks was refreshing, and Anna fought against a grin. To see Elsa so bashful and yet incredibly forward was enough to set Anna's heart flying and capture it all at once. "You didn't answer my question," Elsa said, eyes downcast.

"What question?" Anna asked, feeling playful. She couldn't pinpoint what she liked about Elsa more: her tender kisses or her shy blushes. Anna wagered that it was too hard to decide, so she settled for an equal adoration for both. Although, the way Elsa composed herself, even when she was obviously embarrassed, was enough to make Anna rethink all of it.

"You know," Elsa said, drawing Anna closer. "Tell me."

Brushed against Elsa's front so closely, Anna felt compelled to answer. She arched a knowing look up at the older woman. _I know exactly what you're doing, sneak. _Elsa met her gaze with a smirk, and Anna was well aware of what _that _meant. "No, I'm not afraid of you." She encircled her arms around Elsa's waist, urging her hips up against the blonde's.

Elsa's perfect brows drew up. "Now answer _my _question," Anna said, flicking her tongue out against her lips. "If it's not too much."

Elsa bowed her head against Anna's left shoulder. Anna felt her arms raise from Elsa's hips to her shoulder blades as their clutch grew and morphed into something far more intimate. Elsa nuzzled against Anna's neck, drawing a shuddering gasp from the redhead that she dared not be ashamed of. No, she didn't think she would ever be ashamed of that.

Elsa kissed Anna's fluttering pulse, her lips lingering in a way that hinted at so much more. "I like the warmth." Anna's heart throbbed in her chest. "I can't be cold, Anna. Everything is warm to me. And you... your hands-" she pulled them up and examined them with a critical eye "-they're the easiest in reach to get to."

Anna ferried their joined hands to her lips, pressing a sweet kiss to cold knuckles. "It's warm here, too."

Elsa laughed quietly, indulging Anna in what she craved. When the blonde pulled away, her smile was enough to make Anna split in two. Elsa retrieved her book once more and pointed at the faint path leading into dark woods. "Shall we?"

The walk back was silent. For once, Anna didn't feel the desire to fill it. As she leaned against Elsa quite bodily, she struggled to keep her eyes open and her legs moving. Elsa didn't seem to mind that she was essentially dragging Anna along. The redhead filed the embarrassment away for later. It wouldn't be the first time Elsa had to carry her. Instead, she just focused on trying to remain conscious. _I wonder what would have happened if Elsa hadn't come back for me. _A valid thought. The dirt path leading back through the forest was something Anna never would have spotted, not with how tired she was. She was lucky Elsa was around to have found it. She was relieved for a lot of things that night, and they all revolved around Elsa.

Elsa shifted Anna in her grip, rubbing a clenched fist at her eyes. "Are you tired?" Anna asked, suddenly aware of the fact that she was relying heavily on Elsa without taking the blonde's feelings into account. She grimaced. "Here, let me go. I can walk on my own."

Elsa released her, Anna only stumbling just a little. "I'm a bit of a deadweight right now." Anna rolled her eyes. "Sorry."

Elsa shook her head, a kind smile on her lips. "I don't mind," she said. "I kind of like it, actually." The admission came with a cute blush. Anna bit her lip to hold back a squeal. Elsa was just so unknowingly charming. Anna politely averted her gaze, giving Elsa time to gather herself. The blonde could become so fidgety when she was embarrassed, so the least Anna could do was grace Elsa with small mercies.

Anna squinted against the oppressive darkness. "I think I can see the park lights."

"You're right. The library's just up ahead, then."

Anna entwined her fingers with Elsa's free hand, grinning at the fact that she could _do _that. She could hold Elsa's hand without any sort of hesitancy. "How long do you think the walk took?" she asked, partly to distract Elsa from her hand in hers and partly for true curiosity.

Elsa shrugged. "Maybe fifteen minutes."

"'Maybe fifteen minutes,'" Anna gently mocked. "It didn't feel like fifteen when I was chasing you."

"We were _running_," Elsa pointed out. She opened her mouth to say more, but Anna rushed to intervene, smacking her other hand over Elsa's lips. "Oh, speaking of which," Anna said, her smile wide, if a bit crazed, "you are _fast_."

Elsa glared at Anna's hand. "I know," she said, muffled by the fingers practically in her mouth. Anna withdrew. "I'm slower than I used to be."

Anna scoffed. "If that was slower, I don't even want to know what your top speed is." She tugged on Elsa's hand, some of her energy returning as they drew closer to the lights. "What happened, y'know, to make you slower?"

"I didn't have as much time to train," Elsa said. "As soon as I was enrolled here, I didn't have time for many of the things I used to do, things I liked to do." She gave another weak shrug.

Anna squeezed Elsa's hand. "Why?"

"The control," Elsa explained, though her voice turned hard. "My parents struggled between keeping me away from other people and integrating me more with them. Eventually, they decided that it would be better if I were around others to perfect my 'discipline,' though I was directed to keep everyone I met at arm's length."

"That sounds horrible," Anna said, stuck between the urge to comfort Elsa and respecting her boundaries. Elsa was seemingly forthright with the information, but the way she spoke... it didn't sit right with Anna. Instead, she berated herself for her response. Detached pity. Elsa didn't deserve that. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Elsa."

But Elsa just sighed. "I am, too." She bumped her shoulder against Anna's, her smile returning, even if it was a bit forced. "Here we are."

"Oh." Anna looked down, slipping her hand out of Elsa's to wring out its twin. "Well, um – do you... want to come back to my dorm?" She turned hopeful eyes up at Elsa. A blush began to work its way up her neck. "If that's okay. You don't _have _to if you think it's weird, or anything. I just wanted to ask. I'm not _propositioning _you. _God_, just ignore me."

Elsa laughed behind her hand. "I have an early class tomorrow, Anna." She raised up her text book with an arrogant look about her. "Won't your RA have something to say about you bringing another student to your dorm in the middle of the night?"

Anna ought to just relinquish control over her internal temperature to the God of Embarrassment, because there was no point in trying to preserve her dignity at this point. Crimson, a little sweaty, and splattered with mud; she was sure that she was a sight. Damn Elsa and her logic. "Well." _Abort mission. _

Elsa leaned down, dropping a kiss on Anna's scrunched nose. "I'll stay with you tonight, Anna." She pulled back, biting her lip. Anna frowned at her.

"That was mean."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic."

Anna raised herself up (though it didn't compare to Elsa's impressive height over her) and spun toward the dorms. "Come on, you ass."

She pretended that she did _not _hear Elsa's adorable giggles.

Right.

She glanced down at her phone, almost groaning when she saw fifteen missed messages from both Rapunzel and Kristoff. She had only been missing for two hours – and found it quite touching that her friends worried about her so much – but she wasn't sure if it warranted _fifteen _messages. Although, it _was_ her. Oftentimes, she could make the worst out of any situation, even if it was an accident. And she was currently brushing shoulders with a person with magical capability.

Maybe fifteen messages weren't enough.

Her dorm wasn't abuzz with activity as much as the others were, but there was still a sizable amount of people crowded into the rec room. She spotted Rapunzel from the doorway, waving at her with what she hoped was an apologetic look. The brunette had a deep frown on her face, green eyes narrowed into slits. She vaulted over the couch (stepping on many toes and earning a couple glares) and stopped before the Anna and Elsa, hands pressed into her hips.

"Anna," she began, voice disapproving, "you have to reply to my messages. Your dad made me _swear _that I'd keep an eye on you, and when you disappear without saying when you'll be back, I get worried."

Anna cringed, her shoulders practically at her ears. "I was with Elsa," she said by way of an explanation. "I was fine." For the most part. Elsa speared her with a look that matched Rapunzel's and the redhead felt like receding into the floor.

Rapunzel sighed. "Still, Anna. I know you're not a little kid anymore, but _still_. It's you."

Offended, Anna opened her mouth to retort, but Elsa smoothly interjected, "I don't think it's fair to assume Anna is incapable of taking care of herself." Elsa looked at her, eyes pleading behind an indifferent mask. _Don't get into this._ Anna bit back a groan, but conceded.

"Do you speak for her now?" Rapunzel demanded, training her eyes upon the taller blonde.

"Rapunzel, I'm here," Anna said, stepping in between the two women. She had no doubt that Elsa would remain level headed, but Rapunzel was another story. "No loss of limbs, no bruises or scrapes. I'm fine." _Fine, fine, fine. Can't you think of anything better to reassure your cousin that you weren't a part of a supernatural occurrence? And that your girlfriend controls ice and snow? (Wait, girlfriend?)_

Rapunzel, glaring up at Elsa, didn't seem to notice the dopey smile that had found its way onto Anna's lips. "Whatever." She turned back to the redhead. "We'll talk later."

"Uh huh."

With that, Anna yanked Elsa up the stairs to her dorm room. She felt a certain amount of nervousness bubbling up in her chest at the notion of Elsa staying with her. Things were different now. It wasn't just the sex, though that definitely made the nature of their relationship a whole lot deeper. Elsa had divulged something with Anna that no one else, barring Elsa's family, had been privy to. Elsa had felt Anna worthy of that knowledge and trusted her to keep that secret.

Anna would honor that trust.

Pushing her room door open, she released a sigh. She had never felt so relieved to be back in this cramped dorm room. She found herself to have a new appreciation and understanding for the outdoors, but she didn't think she would ever go gallivanting off into the forest ever again. Well, maybe for Elsa.

She flicked the lights on, cringing as her eyes adjusted to it. She wanted nothing more than to launch herself onto her bed and sleep for a day, but as she regained her vision, she had to snort at her appearance.

"I am covered in mud." She turned and twisted, examining herself in her mirror. "I didn't think it was this bad. Jesus."

Elsa chuckled. "You're not the only one."

Anna had to laugh. Elsa – always prim and proper Elsa – had smatterings of mud all across her clothes and even a little bit on her neck. "I can't even blame Rapunzel," Anna said, slapping a hand to her forehead. "We look like we just rolled around in it, too."

"To the showers?"

"Please."

* * *

As it turned out, Anna did have self control. She was almost ridiculously proud of herself for the handle she had over her hormones. No, she didn't allude to joining Elsa in the showers (because they were both absolutely fucking _filthy_). She had been worried that she wouldn't have been able to control herself when the mental imagery presented itself, but she reigned herself in.

She ended up having to loan Elsa some of her clothes, even if they were a little tight on her taller form, but Anna wasn't complaining. _In no way am I complaining. Good god._

They circled each other when they returned to the dorm. Would they share one of the cots? Sleep separately? Two to a small bed probably wasn't the best course of action, all things considered. It would make sense for them to be parted, even if Anna felt like pouting.

Standing before her bed, she pulled the covers back, ready to curl up and fall into blissful unconsciousness. She dared a glance back at Elsa as the blonde wrestled with her hair into its traditional braid, biting her lip. Elsa was alluring when she was in too small clothing, when she was up to her eyes in mud, and Anna was hopelessly in her clutch.

Elsa brushed her braid over her shoulder, satisfied. She glanced up at Anna with a demure little smile, walking over and dropping a kiss onto the back of Anna's neck. The redhead couldn't suppress the shiver than ran up and down her spine. "Do you want to sleep with me?"

Anna sputtered. "_What?_"

Another soft kiss. "Is that a no?"

"Yes. Wait, _no_. I don't know."

Elsa grinned against her neck. "Hmm?"

"Oh, just get into the bed," Anna said, flushed. She turned in Elsa's arms and brought them both down in a heap onto the bed, its frame creaking ominously with the added weight.

"Goodnight, Anna."

"Shut up."

Elsa shook with laughter. "Of course."

Mortified, Anna curled up on Elsa's chest, but she could not contain her pleased smile.


	9. Promise

Spring break took my muse, so I apologize for the small delay. I don't even think I have to mention how amazing you all are after the reception to last chap. Good god. You guys just make my day.

* * *

Anna cracked open an eyelid, a groan rising up in her throat. The sun just _had _to be shining directly onto her face, didn't it? It couldn't shine anywhere else; just straight through her blinds and into her virgin eyeballs. She rolled over, burrowing into the pleasant cool at her left side. While her room wasn't the warmest – and she had kicked off her blanket during the night – she couldn't be bothered. It was her morning ritual to snuggle into Elsa's side, and that was that.

She peered up along the expanse of pale skin, sighing in a way that made her thankful Elsa still slept. She didn't have time to mop up her dignity and get ready for her classes. It was just a matter of priorities, really. Instead, she examined Elsa in a way that she hoped wasn't incredibly creepy. _It's not my fault she's so adorable when she sleeps. I just can't help myself sometimes. No one ought to be so attractive. She doesn't even _drool. _Just lays there and looks like the little angel we both know she isn't. _

Muttering, Anna detached herself from Elsa's side. She could only leech off Elsa for so long, because if she didn't pull herself away, she'd be there all morning. _A matter of priorities. _

She stumbled over to her closet and yanked her clothes on. She had learned long ago that Elsa slept like the dead, so there was no need to be quiet and tip toe around her. Anna fully committed to her dressing routine of flailing around with her clothes half on, struggling to pull the fabrics up or get her head through the neck hole of her shirts instead of the arms.

Elsa slept on, oblivious, and Anna had to grin.

Their mornings had consisted like this for a solid month now. Elsa would "sneak" in at night, though it was really a far cry from that. Anna wasn't entirely certain her dorm RA, Ariel, even paid attention to what happened around her. Back on point; Elsa would sneak in and spend the night with a stupidly happy Anna. The redhead wasn't even sure if Elsa used her dorm anymore. All of the blonde's things were in Anna's dorm: clothes, books, computer, glasses – that Elsa absolutely detested wearing – and even a _toothbrush._

Anna was beside herself with glee.

She knew that she was naturally a little (a lot) clingy, but she couldn't help herself. She gave everything she was when it came to her relationships. It took on different forms for different people, but the same feeling was behind all of it. Perhaps she loved too much, and perhaps it often left her hurt when it wasn't reciprocated as wholeheartedly, but she couldn't help herself. It was just the type of person she was.

So when she found Elsa giving back that same affection, if not more so, she felt something sputter a bit painfully in her chest. She wasn't the most rational creature, but she knew what she felt and it was hot and _god _if she didn't want more of it. Whatever Elsa had been holding back in favor of keeping her secret was now left in shambles. Anna was quite willingly overwhelmed by it.

Despite this, she couldn't help but shake the feeling that Elsa gave so much because Anna was the first person to stop and give her some attention. The thought felt poisonous, even now, and she felt the desire to physically recoil from it. What good did it do her to think these things? Elsa had assured Anna that it was a choice she made of her own free will.

But Elsa _was _a rational creature, and if she said something, she meant it. Anna didn't know Elsa to be anything different. This brought her comfort, and as her eyes drew to Elsa's sleeping form, she smiled warmly.

_Still way too early for this shit._

Anna crawled into her desk chair and began to check her school emails, murmuring to herself as she scrolled through them. She usually only had a half hour before Elsa eventually woke from the dead. While it was impressive that the blonde could sleep through all Anna threw at her (literally), she would deign it time to rise promptly at 8:30 without the assistance of an alarm. Anna was still trying to figure that one out.

Anna peered out of her window, wincing once again at the sun's invasive rays. The campus looked quite welcoming as it bathed in sunlight and glimmered with fall leaves. November. Idly, Anna wondered where the days went. September had dragged on and on, almost moving in slow motion. October was over with a single blink. Now she was almost through her first semester of college and things didn't appear like they'd be slowing anytime soon. She looked over at Elsa, lost in thought. The speed at which things were progressing made an uncomfortable knot in her stomach.

The days that she had with Elsa were numbered, because the older woman would be graduating soon. Anna had _been _there when Elsa applied for graduation, to boot. She wasn't sure how to feel about that, so she decided not to.

_Way too early for this, too. Get over yourself, Anna. _

With a roll of her eyes, she pushed away from the desk and bent back to stretch. She still had fifteen minutes before Elsa would come back to Earth, so she strolled down to the washroom to shower. She contemplated stopping by Rapunzel's door to greet her, but opted against it. The brunette was still smarting from the last time they had spoken, and though it tore at Anna to leave the wound open, she couldn't bring herself to mend it. Rapunzel found more and more reasons to butt heads with Elsa over the course of the last several weeks, and Anna was at the end of her wits.

Kristoff had wisely stayed out of these exchanges. Anna felt like she could have kissed him for his restraint, and told him so. Elsa had shrugged, so the redhead obliged the blushing man.

After a quick shower, she made her way back to her room. She pushed a brush through her gnarled red tresses, biting down hard on her lip. _Genetics be damned. This is ridiculous. No good reason for my hair to be so hard to handle. I mean, come _on! _I need to have a word with my dad and curse him for his poor genes, because this is not okay. _

Huffing her way up the steps, she stopped dead at the sight of Rapunzel fussing over her door lock. Anna anxiously pulled on her clothes, seeing as they were slightly damp from her recently showered skin. The brush lay forgotten, tangled up in the mass of hair on top of her head.

"Hi, Rapunzel," she said, or really _croaked_. The brunette muttered an oath, yanking her gaze away from the keys still in the lock to meet Anna's. She let out a sigh that extinguished all the rigidity of her stance. Anna frowned.

Rapunzel ran a hand over her face. "What do you want, Anna?"

Stung, Anna crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "I just – I don't know, Rapunzel. Can't I talk to you anymore?"

"Of course you can talk to me," Rapunzel said, though her tone oozed the opposite. "I'm busy. Can this wait?" She gestured at her satchel, free hand wrenching her keys from the door lock. "I have a class in twenty minutes and it's across campus."

Anna blanched under Rapunzel's glare. "Oh, well, yeah. I mean, i-if you want."

Rapunzel held the glare for a few moments longer before it fell off. She took a few steps closer, a hand outstretched as if to rest on Anna's shoulder, but it never connected and dropped limply to her side. "Later, okay?"

Anna dropped her eyes down to her toes, wriggling them uncomfortably against the chill of the linoleum floor. "Okay."

Rapunzel nodded, brushing past her and stomping down the steps. Anna clutched her arms tighter to her chest, unable to bring herself to look back. She was afraid she'd see the ugly look that marred Rapunzel's face and had no place being there. Instead, she sighed and jammed her own key into her door lock, pushing the door aside.

She let out a squawk of surprise to see Elsa before her, gloriously nude from the waist up, leaning over the bed with a pen sticking out of her mouth. Anna wasn't sure she if she would ever get used to seeing Elsa act so casually around her. While she was absurdly pleased and flattered that Elsa was that comfortable around her, it still brought a nice shiver along her spine. She imagined that it always would.

She quickly stepped inside and slammed the door, a chorus of groans from the neighboring rooms hitting her ears and making her grimace. _Stupid paper-thin walls._

Elsa looked up from the folders spread across the cot, smiling that damn crooked smile. "Hi."

Anna grinned back. "Hi." She kept her eyes zeroed in on Elsa's, because there was no way she would be able to hold herself back if she let them wander. She absently reached up, tugging the forgotten brush out of her hair with enough force to make her eyes weep a little. Shaking her head, she began to comb through her hair, the bounce in her step returning with just one of Elsa's wonderful little smiles.

"I hope you plan on wearing a shirt today," Anna said conversationally. "The view's great but I don't think a lot of people will appreciate it when they slam into buildings and doors and lamp posts."

Elsa hummed, her fingers feathering through packets of paper with a satisfying little noise. "Is that so?"

Anna nodded, traipsing over to the mirror to examine her hair. And to get Elsa's lovely figure out of her field of vision, but that was another story. "I'm only looking out for my fellow students."

The papers rustled and something was dropped onto the desk. Anna shot a look over her shoulder, a warm blush rising up her neck when she was met with two blue eyes peering up at her. Elsa gently wrapped her arms around the redhead from behind. Anna dropped a light kiss on Elsa's temple, smiling against the blonde's soft, cool skin.

"These walls aren't the thickest," Elsa murmured, nuzzling along the length of Anna's neck and up the shell of her ear. She restrained a shudder, inwardly cursing herself at how easily she melted in Elsa's embrace. Still, the blonde's words were enough to make Anna deflate. Of _course _Elsa had heard her exchange with Rapunzel.

Elsa held her tighter. "Are you okay?"

_It is a sad day when not even Elsa's boobs pressed against my back can make me feel better. _

Anna shrugged. "I've been better," she said, trying not to play up her unease. "I don't know what's going on with her." She wondered when it was that she lost touch with her cousin. When had it begun and why was she suddenly feeling like she didn't know anything anymore? "All we do is fight with each other."

Elsa bowed her head against Anna's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Anna," she said, sounding remorseful. "I know that I'm the catalyst for your arguments, but-"

"Don't even start," Anna interrupted. "Whatever Rapunzel's dealing with shouldn't have anything to do with you. She drags you into it just to upset me, and that's not fair to any of us."

Elsa sighed. "I don't like seeing you so unhappy." She raised her head up, eyes drifting across the duo's reflection in the mirror. "I wish I could fix it."

"Have breakfast with me," Anna suggested, her lips forming a genuine smile.

Elsa raised a brow. "I always do."

"Then let's _go_. Put some clothes on, woman."

Elsa rolled her eyes, though her lips pursed. Anna knew the blonde probably didn't like the deflection, but she appreciated that Elsa dropped the subject regardless. It pained Elsa as much as it did Anna to see the redhead so hurt over her cousin's rejection, and she knew it, too. She just hated the worry that settled on Elsa's face whenever it was brought up. Elsa's feelings tended to manifest in the form of blizzards and jagged ice, so if Anna ever had the opportunity to prevent that, she would.

Anna could hardly bear to see the horror in Elsa's eyes when her control slipped. It cut deeper than any wound ever had. She would actively go out of her way to prevent instances like those, because there was nothing quite as tearing as watching the proud Elsa she knew recede into herself like a lost child.

She spun, banishing those thoughts away. "Clothes."

"Clothes," Elsa repeated, smiling a little.

After Elsa dressed, they made their way down to the cafe. Hand in hand, they walked, talking about nothing in particular. Anna was just happy that she could share her mornings with Elsa. It was gratifying to see the blonde do "normal people things," as Anna had dubbed them. She was just so impossibly regal (perhaps even _royal_, in some aspects). So when Elsa grudgingly slid her glasses on, or when her fingertips were stained with ink, or even when she sipped on her coffee, it made her all the more appealing to Anna.

Perhaps she was looking a little too much into it, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Frankly, it was downright adorable, so Anna couldn't have given two shits about what other people thought.

"Honestly," Anna was saying, "I think you should do it."

"What would that even accomplish?" Elsa asked, amused. "It's not like anyone would be impressed."

Anna tutted. "_I _would be." She dropped Elsa's hand, jumping in front of the blonde. "Imagine it; snow's covering the entire campus, it's freezing out, and there's only _one _brave soul willing to endure it. _You._" Elsa snuffed out a laugh behind her hand. "You just throw yourself into the biggest pile of snow and start making snowmen for no reason at all. Then, after a couple minutes – enough so that a normal person would have frostbite – you emerge. Oh, and I don't mean to say you're not normal, y'know, besides the obvious. But in comparison to _me_, you're abnormal. Never mind, forget that last part. _Anyways_, you emerge after building this army of snowmen and you're unscathed." Anna planted her hands on her hips. "People would be impressed, trust me."

Elsa seemed to contemplate the thought. "As long as you're impressed," she said, winking, "I might consider it."

Anna's body betrayed her with a heated blush. "M-maybe it'd just be something for me, then."

"If you wanted that," Elsa said, looking quite serious. She tilted her head to the side, aiming a piercing look at Anna that had coiled curiosity nagging away in her head. "I'd like to go to a place where I don't have to hide... it." Elsa flexed her fingers, eyes knowing and perhaps a little sad.

"You'd show me what you can do?" Anna asked, excitement bubbling in her chest.

"Somewhere secure and safe." Elsa nodded, and Anna dared to believe that the older woman was excited about such a venture, too. "I would." She smiled at Anna, melting the redhead's poor heart.

"When do you think we could do that?"

"Winter break, maybe?"

Anna scooped up Elsa's right hand, squeezing it in her left with a strength that had Elsa's eyes twitching. "This is amazing!"

Anna practically dragged Elsa the rest of the way to the cafe. When they arrived, Elsa slumped down into a chair, clutching at her bruised hand. Anna skipped off to pay for two meals, her thoughts buzzing with anticipation. She had never imagined that Elsa would offer to show Anna her magic, and Anna wouldn't ever have pressured Elsa into doing so. Any mention of it never sat well with the blonde, so Anna made sure to avoid it whenever they spoke. And yet, to have Elsa _offer... _Anna wasn't entirely certain that she could contain herself.

She returned with two trays, balancing them precariously. "I don't think it was a good idea for me to do this, Elsa," she said, biting her lip. She plopped the trays down gracelessly, throwing herself in the seat opposite Elsa. Examining her handiwork, she reckoned that it could have been worse.

Elsa poked at the empty slot where her coffee should have been.

Anna groaned. "Now I'll never be a waitress."

"If you hadn't broken my hand, maybe this would have gone better," Elsa said dryly. Anna stuck her tongue out at the blonde, rising to her feet once more. She took a step toward the vending machines, but Elsa gave a cough. Anna turned around, tapping her foot impatiently.

Elsa held up two dollar bills. "You might need these."

"Right." With as much dignity that she could muster, she took the bills from Elsa's grasp, pointedly ignoring Elsa's wry little grin. She moved off to buy the coffee, though her fingers trembled as she stuffed the bills into the slots. _Is it Christmas already? _

When she turned back to their table, her heart unexpectedly dropped.

_Why did I expect it to be that easy?_

Because there Hans stood, smiling widely.


	10. Doldrums

Woah, guys. It has been a minute, hasn't it? This chapter was a bitch, plain and simple. Doesn't really excuse the long wait, but y'know. Thank you guys so much for sticking with me. I really do appreciate the support and the feedback and all of that stuff. Here's the next bit. Sorry for the delay!

* * *

If Elsa was ice, Hans was fire. The parallel amused Anna more than she liked to admit, though it was a poor guise to mask her sudden crippling anxiety at seeing the two together. To know that her fears were not baseless, to know that there was _something _hidden beneath Elsa's clenched fists and Hans' easy smile; it puzzled her and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know why it did.

Hans was impeccably dressed, just like he had been at their first meeting. He looked as if he belonged at some sort of corporate meeting rather than in a college cafeteria. Still, he looked pleasant enough. Not outwardly threatening, but Anna couldn't will away the knot that had formed in her stomach at the sight of him. It might have been his presence. It affected Elsa, and Anna found some protective instinct or other rise at seeing her clam up so easily.

Hans waved her over, all infuriating smiles. She forced her feet her move, though it was as if they were embedded in concrete. She tried to capture Elsa's eyes, but they were so resolutely focused on the chair sat across from her. Finally, she came to a stop, hands trembling as she sat down the coffees. She smiled unevenly at Hans. "Hey again, Hans." _No point in being impolite. _

He gave a gentlemanly tip of his head. "Anna Oaken." She dropped into her seat, almost reaching out to comfort Elsa. She wasn't sure that the gesture would be appreciated, but the desire to do so fought against everything she had in her. Instead, she kept her hands to herself, but she did curl her foot around one of Elsa's calves. Elsa jumped slightly at the contact.

It shocked the blonde out of whatever stupor she'd succumbed to. She slanted a look (or was it a glare?) up at Hans. "Why are you here?"

Anna half expected him to tut. Maybe wag a finger or something. He seemed like the type. But he just bent down over the table, bracing his palms down on it. Anna's eyes drew to his hands, settling on the imperfections lining the skin. The pinky finger of his right hand was severed at the second knuckle, too. She felt a childish urge to ask what had happened to his hands, but bit it down. _That's none of your business to begin with as well as being ridiculously rude. Jesus, Anna. _

"I suppose I can't have breakfast with you both, then?" he asked, not looking all that put out. Elsa's expression remained unchanged. Hans sighed, crouching down and propping his chin onto steepled fingers. "Well, I'd like to talk to you whenever you have a free moment."

Elsa gave him a look that was unerringly frigid_. _"You couldn't text or call?"

He nodded. "I chose not to. It's not something that you talk about over a phone call, Elsa." His eyes darted between the two women for a moment, perhaps trying to convey that whatever he wanted to say didn't need to be overheard by the redhead. She speared her breakfast with a little more ferocity than she intended.

Hans glanced over, nibbling on his bottom lip. He cupped her shoulder; the intention was clear and she didn't blame him for it, but she struggled against the urge to yank herself away all the same. "I'm sorry, Anna," he said, eyes full of apology. "It's a family matter."

"Please don't touch her," Elsa said quietly, but there was an underlying threat in the words. Anna tried not to grin – really, she did – at the possessiveness. She could fight her own battles, but it was still terribly flattering to see Elsa look so damn flustered.

Hans withdrew, and Anna saw it – the barely concealed disgust, though whether it was at his own actions or Elsa's command, she didn't know. It was easy to spot, after all, because of how it curled onto his handsome face and darkened his eyes. She suppressed a shiver. There was something all the more disturbing about seeing such a look on someone who seemed relatively harmless.

But the moment was gone, and Hans' eyes crinkled at the edges as he formed an embarrassed smile. "I'm sorry," he said, and damn if Anna didn't think it was genuine. If there was one thing he shared with Elsa, it was the charm. She was sure Elsa wouldn't appreciate the comparison, but it was true. They both just had some _way _about them that was endearing.

Then, to Elsa, "Can you make some time for me?"

The blonde nodded, eyes flicking up to meet Anna's. She smiled encouragingly at Elsa, and the older woman reached out to interlace a hand with hers. And Elsa kept her there, gently applying pressure to her fingers and smiling hesitantly through Hans' lingering looks. Finally, she canted her head toward him. "How about now, Hans?"

The man looked between them, bemused. "I did say it was a family matter, Elsa." Anna had half a mind to feel offended. Hans' words were in no way subtly suggesting that she needed to be _excluded _from the conversation. Hell, he could have just said it outright and she would have felt less insulted.

Elsa nodded. "I heard you. Either explain it now or not at all."

Hans sighed, and Anna could have sworn that, for the first time, he looked _mad_. He turned heated green eyes upon her. "She knows?" he demanded. "You _told _her?"

She watched Elsa struggle not to snap at him, struggle not to play coy. She was inwardly proud of her girlfriend in that moment. "Yes," Elsa said, "I did."

"_Why_?" _Well, screw you too, buddy._

"I trust her."

Hans appeared as though he wanted to argue, but the firmness of Elsa's words seemed to putter out the fight in him. "I – Elsa..." He shook his head, clenched his fists atop the table. But then he smiled, as forced as it was. "I suppose it's a good thing you've found someone you can trust, right?" Anna's heart went out to him even though she tried to throttle it down. It didn't take a genius to see that he would have much rather preferred Elsa put that trust in him over Anna.

Elsa bowed her head, and the redhead knew her thoughts were mirrored.

Hans leaned over to a nearby table and scraped a free chair to the edge of theirs, plopping himself into it. He bent forward, face grim. "Dad and Helen want to see you. With the weather turning back to normal, they're still suspicious."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "They're not happy with anything that I do, are they?" She looked to Anna. "When things started to change between you and I, it reflected in the weather. I went to speak with them about it, and that's when – well, you know."

Anna nodded, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. She didn't really like to think much on her separation from Elsa. It was still a sore spot between the two women, even though Elsa had assured her it wouldn't happen again. She understood the intentions behind it objectively, and she didn't feel _clingy_, but it wasn't something she liked to relive.

She gave Elsa a smile. It was all she could think to do. Elsa wet her lips, looking as if she wanted to say something, but thought better of it and turned to Hans. "You haven't told them about Anna, have you?" she asked, absently tightening her grip on Anna's fingers.

"It's not my place to tell," he said with a shrug. "They know nothing about her."

Elsa looked relieved. "Good. That's just – thank you, Hans."

He smiled crookedly (and it was eerily similar to Elsa's own brand of smile). Still, Anna was curious. "Why can't they know about me, Elsa?" Surely she wasn't something to be ashamed of? Elsa was proud in all things, something Anna admired her for. The blonde leveled her with a stare that made her cringe. It practically screamed, "_I know what you're thinking._" She resisted the urge to duck her head, if not to preserve a little bit of her dignity.

"You know better," Elsa said softly. Anna flushed all the way to the tips of her ears. However, she kept her head up. Elsa flashed her an indulgent smile, one that made butterflies bat furiously away in her stomach.

Hans cleared his throat.

God, she _really _needed to learn how to act in public places. She had forgotten Hans was even with them and he was sitting right next to her. She blamed it on Elsa. It was her damn fault for being so adorable and smart and sexy and funny... _Let's forget I even thought that. It's gone. Totally out of my mind. Yeah._

Sobering, she focused on Hans. He appeared like he was trying to squash down how uncomfortable he felt. Guiltily, she realized she and Elsa were probably the cause of it. She had always been affectionate – perhaps even too affectionate, Kristoff would say – but it was tenfold with Elsa. It was easy to get lost in the blonde's icy eyes and trip over her crooked smiles. When the world blurred away, Elsa was constant.

The way Hans looked at Elsa, she was struck by how that constancy was clear to him, too.

_Huh. That's interesting._

Elsa didn't talk about Hans much. From bits and pieces gathered here and there, as well as their previous encounter, Anna could tell that their relationship was a strained one. She had picked up on Elsa's quiet deflections whenever Hans was brought up. She didn't pry; Elsa's past was her own and Anna respected that.

Now, as she gazed between the step siblings, she wondered (hopelessly) about what was left unsaid. She couldn't even drudge up any jealousy, any doubt, anything at _all_, because Hans was looking at Elsa like _she _got to everyday. He was soaking up Elsa's attention, thriving in it, hanging onto her every word and memorizing the lines of her face and the light in her eyes. She was filled with remorse quite suddenly. Sadness, too, for the both of them.

Because Hans was basking in Elsa's presence and the blonde only had eyes for _her_.

Did she pity him? No. Hans wasn't the type of man that garnered pity. Too proud and confident, another damnable similarity to Elsa. (They were cut from the same cloth, were they not?) She could only hazard a guess as to how long Hans held out for Elsa. Could Elsa see it? The truth was here, less than a foot away from her. Did she see the longing written so plainly on Hans' face? It was earnest and raw and had Anna questioning the depth of her own feelings for Elsa. Could they even compare to _this_?

She sat back, utterly bewildered.

"...but why do they want an explanation I can't give? I don't _know _why things were disrupted and why they've calmed down. My powers don't exactly make sense in the laws of nature."

"They've always been manipulated by your emotions."

"We _think_."

"Don't be obstinate for the sake of it, Elsa. It's unfitting."

A sigh. "They won't be happy with anything I tell them, regardless of if I lie or not."

"They don't have to be happy, they just have to accept it."

"Erik will try to flesh out _anything _that I say to him. You know that, Hans. He won't stop with it. If they find out about Anna – if they try to do anything to her, to try to take her away from me..."

Hans' throat bobbed against words Anna knew he wanted to say. But he swallowed it down, reaching out a hand to rest on top of where the two women's were clasped. And he smiled, toothy and charming and sad and defeated. "You won't let that happen, nor will I."

The silence that followed was comfortable. Anna kept her eyes firmly on Elsa's, though her hands fiddled with her plastic tray and utensils. She pushed her now-cold food around moodily for something to do. It was a welcome distraction as well as a precaution against herself. She didn't want to open her big mouth and ruin the tentative calm that had settled around the trio.

Elsa looked content as she sipped her coffee (probably stone cold as well). Hans crossed and recrossed his arms over his chest, appearing quite out of place, and the suddenness of it had Anna stifling a laugh. Elsa quirked a brow at her, the toe of her shoe scuffing against Anna's questioningly.

"_Later_," she mouthed.

Hans stood, biting his lip to hide a smile. "I'm sorry. I've taken enough of your time."

Elsa got to her feet as well, so Anna followed silently. The blonde shook hands with her step brother, eyes intense, piercing. "Stay in touch, alright?"

Hans nodded (and did Anna detect a _blush _on his face?). "I will." He turned to Anna, extending a hand for her to shake. She did so gingerly, trying to ignore the prominent drop in temperature when Hans' skin touched hers.

"Take care of my sister, Anna."

She looked down at her shoes as if they were fascinating. "She doesn't need me to do that, but I will," she said, meaning every word of it.

Elsa's arm slid around her waist, drawing her closer. "Thank you, Hans."

"You never have to thank me, Elsa."

Then, with one last friendly wave, he was gone.

* * *

With daylight fading, Anna trudged home through bitter rain. She and Elsa had separated after breakfast to go to their respective classes, though with the blonde being especially affectionate after Hans' departure, she made it all the harder to walk away from. Still, Anna couldn't shirk going to her classes, and she couldn't drag Elsa along with her (despite how badly she wanted to). As rain pelted her from all directions, she just wished for the warm comfort of her dorm.

Her dorm. Rapunzel. She groaned.

If she were honest with herself, she just didn't have the energy to fight it out with her cousin. Was her day not eventful enough? Hell, was her life not eventful enough? She attracted drama. She was _dating _drama. She knew Elsa would frown at that, but it was _true_. The blonde was just inherently dramatic. _Adorably dramatic. It kinda makes sense. _

All unattractive comparisons aside, she was exhausted. She wasn't going to have it out with Rapunzel today. _Tomorrow, maybe. I've got a full schedule on "potential things that can cause an early heart attack," so maybe never. I'll have to just wait and see. _

"Trying to impersonate a drowned cat, huh?"

Blinking past rain and her own jumbled thoughts, she grinned up at Kristoff. "What are you doing here?" Then, after a beat, she added, "I haven't seen you in forever."

Kristoff wagged a finger at her, distinctly Rapunzel-like in execution. "You would see me if you looked past a certain blonde."

She blushed. "_Hey_."

"Don't worry about it, Anna," he said, wrapping a big arm around her and dragging her into his pleasant warmth. "Headed back to your dorm?"

She hummed in the affirmative, soaking up his soapy smell. "It's been a day, Kristoff."

"A day unlike any other?"

"You could say that."

They walked to her dorm, though felt no need to rush even as the rain drenched them. Kristoff was different than Rapunzel and Elsa. By no means better or worse than either, just different. His company was easy, like a breath of fresh air. In all the things she'd experienced and felt and fought for in such a short time at this university, she could always find solace in her best friend. He didn't judge or pry. She felt an immense amount of guilt for having ignored him like she did (there was no sugar-coating it; that's _exactly _what she had done). And yet he always welcomed her back with a big smile and strong arms.

"I feel like a dick," she said around the cloth of his hoodie.

"What's that like?" he asked, gently mocking.

She elbowed his gut. "Shut up."

"Alright, alright," he said, chuckling. "What's up, feisty pants?"

"Jeez, do I really sound that upset for you to bring back _that _nickname?"

He shrugged. "My arsenal of nicknames don't require a certain _trigger_, dear Anna." He squeezed her against his chest just a little. "So?"

"Rapunzel and I are fighting," she mumbled.

"Still?"

"Still. I tried to talk to her this morning and she blew me off – said she'd talk to me later." She wrung her hands together (because her braids were sopping wet and she didn't feel like tugging on them). "And Elsa's dealing with some stuff." At his raised brow, she winced. "It's not really my place to talk about it, either."

"Full plate." _More than you know, Kristoff. _

"Yeah."

He just shrugged again, a big shoulder knocking against her jaw. "Wanna bitch at me until it's off your chest?" She snorted. "Worth a shot," he said. "You know I'm not good with 'feelings.'"

"Take me home, you oaf."

"I resemble that remark."

"I know, Kristoff."

The rest of the walk was quiet beyond Kristoff's faint snuffling ("Reindeer-ish? Really, Anna?"). She murmured a goodnight to him at the entrance to her dorm, promising that they would hang out whenever they both had free time.

She threw herself onto her bed, kicking her shoes off and shimmying out of her jeans. She curled up underneath the covers, sleep stinging at her eyelids. She drifted in and out of consciousness, as she was never quite able to fully rest without Elsa's presence anymore. When the blonde finally arrived, she looked as exhausted as Anna felt, and fell onto the bed beside her.

"Long day?" Anna asked, peeling off Elsa's rain-slicked sweats.

Elsa nodded against the hollow of Anna's shoulder, dropping a soft kiss on her collarbone. "You said it."

"Tomorrow's gonna suck, too."

"You said it."


	11. You

Here's a totally unplanned chapter because I'm garbage. Couldn't tell you where the fuck this came from since I don't even know. Enjoy.

* * *

Anna drew up from the pleasant haze of sleep, though her eyes were met with the darkness of early morning. Familiar fingertips traced along the inside of her arm, trailing with them a path of fresh goosebumps. She shivered, though not from the cold. She arched a look up at the woman holding her, a smile settling on her lips that was so easy to keep there.

"Why are you awake?" she asked, voice hoarse from disuse. She met Elsa's gaze with concern, though it was masked behind a fine layer of exhaustion. It simply wasn't like the blonde to stir in the night—she had always slept like a brick and didn't arise until her internal clocked deemed it time to. She didn't think it was hard to guess what was keeping Elsa awake. The conversation with Hans was undoubtedly still fresh in Elsa's mind (and her own). Unnecessarily, she added, "Something wrong?"

_Of course there's something wrong. Elsa doesn't just wake me up in the middle of the night for no reason at all—well, besides for sex, and even then, she doesn't have a look on her face like I've killed her puppy._

Elsa smiled down at her, brushing a thumb across her lips slowly. "Go back to sleep."

She groaned. "_Elsa_."

"I didn't mean to wake you up," Elsa hushed her. "Go on."

"I can't sleep now," she said unconvincingly. Truly, she could, but she would stay up because there was something so obviously bothering Elsa, and what kind of girlfriend would she be if she rolled over and fell into unconsciousness without assessing the problem? In all honesty, it would be a dick move, and she didn't pull dick moves. _Especially when Elsa's involved. _

So she twisted around to lay chest to chest with Elsa, peering up into hooded blue eyes. "I'm up now, so tell me what's wrong." She laid a finger on Elsa's lips. "And don't say there's nothing wrong or that I should go back to sleep. I'm not buying it, so sell it somewhere else."

"Are you always so commanding in the morning?"

She tsked. "I am when I need to be." She nuzzled her face in between Elsa's breasts, the fabric of the blonde's sleeping shirt tickling her nose. "So?"

Elsa, caught between amusement and hesitation, shrugged.

"Don't you _dare _say it's nothing," Anna warned her. "You don't wake me up this early without a reason."

"I _did _say that it wasn't my intention to wake you."

She pouted. "Elsa, please."

The blonde just sighed, her chin dropping down to her chest. Anna waited patiently for her girlfriend to gather her thoughts. Elsa preferred to carefully craft her words, unlike how Anna tended to spout whatever she was thinking. It was strange to mix the two of them together, as their "philosophies" were often quite different, but it worked somehow. So Anna waited, silently encouraging Elsa with light touches and a private smile.

"Yesterday—with Hans," Elsa began, eyes alight with uncertainty, "you didn't say much, and neither he nor I gave you room to do so."

Anna was perplexed. "I wouldn't say _that_, but it's true that I didn't talk a lot." She tilted her head. "Why, does that bother you?"

Elsa's eyes flickered between hers. "Your opinion means everything to me." The words were said with such unwavering conviction, so much so that Anna felt her face heat up with a fierce blush. Did Elsa realize the effect she had on the redhead? She'd always felt undeserving (and a little embarrassed) to have that passion directed at herself. It wasn't fair when she couldn't reciprocate without making an ass of herself.

"You're blushing," Elsa said, momentarily sidetracked. She cupped Anna's jaw in one hand, smiling softly. _Jesus. Someone hose me down. _

Anna batted weakly at Elsa's hand. "Well, it's your fault." Then, regaining some of her composure, she said, "I'm not really sure what to say even now, Elsa. I wasn't paying much attention to the conversation anyway."

Elsa raised a brow. "That's reassuring."

"Oh, hush. What's the big deal?"

"Can you humor me for just a moment?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "Alright." She bent forward, pressing her lips to Elsa's chin. "What would you like me to say?"

Elsa's arms wound around her lower back, urging their hips together. "Your thoughts about it all, preferably."

"It's going to be way harder for me to gather my thoughts now that we're pretty much grinding against each other, you know."

"Would you like me to stop?"

"Hell no—just give me a minute."

Elsa was right (as per usual); Anna hadn't spoken about or even thought of the true reason for Hans' visit the previous day. She had gotten too wrapped up in Hans and Elsa, so the whole issue regarding their parents and Elsa's powers was forgotten. Now, she still wasn't sure what to think.

"I don't know," she said, frowning. "Why are they so concerned about it—things being normal? I mean, you'd think they'd be happy, right?"

Elsa nodded, her fingers idly pressing against the bottom of Anna's spine. The polarity of temperatures was oddly satisfying. "My step father, Erik, he's... never been _supportive _of my control—or lack of it—according to him. He's questioned every slip up and every milestone."

Anna looked at Elsa sorrowfully. "And your mom?"

"She's different," the blonde said, though she shrugged. "I never quite know what to make of her, and I'm certain she doesn't know what to make of me." Faraway eyes snapped back to Anna's, holding her there. "Erik will want to know what I've done to reign myself in. He'll want to know about you."

Anna suppressed a shiver. "That's why you said lying wouldn't matter."

All of the sudden, Elsa looked drawn and grim. "Yes."

"But _why_?" Did the reason for control _really _need to be discovered? As long as Elsa wasn't hurting herself or anyone else, why did it matter? "Elsa?"

Elsa bit down on her bottom lip, eyes half lidded as she avoided Anna's. "Hey," she said, pulling herself higher up to touch noses with Elsa. "Hey, you." Met with silence, she brushed a close-mouthed kiss against Elsa's lips. "Don't shut me out, okay?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You don't have to say anything you don't want to." She smiled, resting her forehead on Elsa's cool one. "Just enough so that I know what's going on."

Elsa's eyes drooped shut. "I want to tell you everything, but I just _can't_. Not yet."

Anna kissed in between the blonde's brows, at her temples, down her jaw. "Whenever you're ready, Elsa," she said, and she meant it. "No rush."

Elsa seemed noticeably embarrassed by her small meltdown, so Anna waited for the older woman to fall back into herself. It didn't take long; Elsa bounced back quickly from her "failures," as she liked to call them (and, yes, Anna was still fuming over the fact that Elsa considered natural human reactions to be slights of character. Elsa's damn parents...).

Anna busied herself with the expanse of Elsa's neck, lightly scraping her teeth along the skin she found there. "D'you think that they'd separate us if they found out?"

"_When_ they find out," Elsa demurred. "And I don't know. I'd like to think that they wouldn't, but Erik's anal retentive."

"Your step dad sounds like the nicest guy," Anna said with a mighty eye roll. "I don't know how you could possibly dislike him as much as you do, Elsa. It's horribly unfair."

Elsa merely hummed, the vibrations of her throat tickling Anna's lips. She set back to teasing the milky skin, smiling when Elsa held her just a bit tighter in response. "I hope you know that I wouldn't let that happen, Anna."

Anna detached herself from Elsa's rather appealing skin. "Let what happen?"

The ice of Elsa's eyes was deadly serious. "If they attempt to separate us." The slight twitch of her hips against Anna's reminded the redhead of their positions, and she gulped in nervous anticipation.

"Well," she blustered, color high in the apples of her cheeks, "I wouldn't either."

"Oh?"

She nodded firmly. "Of course not." She flexed one bicep experimentally. "I'd punch a bitch."

Elsa laughed, throaty and indulgent and enough to melt Anna against her even more. "You are adorable." She punctuated the sentence with a slow, easy kiss, her tongue slyly pushing its way into Anna's mouth when the redhead choked on a gasp. Anna remained lost, as it was a lot more fun to stray from reality when she knew Elsa would always be there to ground her.

When they pulled away from one another, thumbs immediately went to the other woman's lips, pressing along the swollen skin. Anna just chuckled. "I think we're more alike than either of us realize, Elsa."

The blonde smiled crookedly. "You may be right." She admired the change of position, perhaps wondering when Anna had risen to straddle her. She let her hands drift down, touch feather light through the thin fabric of Anna's tank top. Anna trembled, just barely resisting the urge to move her hips. Damn, Elsa knew what she was doing, didn't she? _She knows every spot I liked to be touched at, the sneak, and she's abusing that power._

"I sometimes forget that it's only been a short while that we've known each other," Elsa murmured, sounding as though it didn't bother her in the least. Anna had to agree. Rapunzel and Kristoff had their reservations about the quick progression of her relationship with Elsa (not that it was any of their business), but she couldn't think of a slower alternative. Or, generally, any alternative to what they had. It was special and it was theirs. Anna wouldn't have pursued it if she hadn't been comfortable with Elsa, and it was safe to say that she was _definitely _comfortable.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" Anna asked, quirking up a brow when Elsa's hands skimmed along her boxer shorts. Elsa shot her a look that was terribly arrogant, but it only served to widen the smile on Anna's face.

"I _was_," Elsa said, her hands dropping to the bed. "I've lost interest now."

Anna snorted. "I see—playing hard to get, huh?"

"Is that supposed to be dirty talk?"

"I dunno. Do you like it?"

Elsa nudged Anna off of her, throwing a leg over the redhead's hips, effectively swapping positions. "Ah," Anna said knowingly, "it must've worked, 'cause you always like to be on top."

Elsa silenced her with another kiss, nipping gently, caressing here and there. Anna arched up, hands searching for a resting place. She found Elsa's breasts to be the perfect spot, and grinned when the blonde's lips parted for her with a pant. "For the record," Elsa mumbled in between kisses, "your dirty talk didn't work."

"You lie."

"It's more of a mood killer than anything else." At Anna's pout, she ran her tongue across it, eyes mirthful. The younger woman growled, ensnaring that devious little tongue between her teeth and pulling it into her mouth. Elsa slumped against her, the weight on her chest satisfying and cooling to her quickly overheating body.

Anna pushed Elsa back slightly, reaching up to cup the blonde's well-defined jaw. "Elsa?"

Elsa's eyes, though hidden by half-lids, were attentive. "Hmm?"

"I meant it," Anna said softly. "I meant that I'd fight if your parents want to separate us." Damn her voice for cracking. "You know that, don't you?"

Elsa smiled so warmly, so _earnestly_. "I do, Anna. You never have to doubt that."

Anna's heart thudded against her ribcage, and she thought it fit to burst from her chest at the rate it was going. Elsa's hand crept up between them to measure it herself, and Anna was almost embarrassed by it. Almost. She rested her hand on Elsa's, inwardly pleased when the muscle in the blonde's jaw jumped erratically at the contact. She knew Elsa had a particularly charming obsession (fetish?) with her hands, and it pleased her to no end to take advantage of it, if to just see a rare blush.

It worked. Elsa peeled Anna's hand away to kiss at her knuckles, a smile resting there when a pleasurable tremor ran up and down her spine. "You don't play fair," Elsa said, pressing her lips against the pulse hammering away in Anna's wrist.

"Well, you don't get to smile at me like that without facing the consequences," she stammered, nodding furiously. If anything was unfair, it was that _smile_. Perfectly illegal, she was sure of it. It worked on her too damn well, and she could attest many encounters to that. Elsa had the ability to turn her legs to jelly with just an expression. It had been employed—often—and Anna was tired of it (not even a little bit, but she had to preserve her dignity).

Elsa's eyes darkened. "And what are the consequences?"

Her own eyes ping-ponged between Elsa's. "Are _you _trying to talk dirty now?" she asked, though her tone was terribly high. She sort of sounded like a prepubescent boy, but that was beside the point.

Elsa leaned down farther, landing with a gentle bite to her chin. "Is it working?"

"Um."

Elsa laughed.

Anna attempted to cross her legs.

"Are you going to flirt with me or are you going fuck me?" she asked irritably. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could stand. Elsa was irresistible, that was certain, but she seemed to enjoy dragging out the banter and Anna would have none of it. She loved talking to Elsa, yes, and she was happy that they had cleared some of the air between them, but she was going to lose her mind if she wasn't rewarded after enduring so much teasing.

Elsa smirked, tongue poking out to wet her lips. "Can't I do both?" _Sweet god. _

"Not if you keep dragging it out," Anna said, hooking her thumbs into the waistband of Elsa's panties. "You woke me up early in the morning, Elsa. I need this."

"'Need,'" Elsa said, rolling her eyes. She pushed Anna's hands away with a warning look that held no bite, using her own fingers to peel off the men's boxer shorts Anna insisted on wearing. She shifted the redhead's tank top up, mouthing her way up to drag across a nipple. Anna dug her teeth into her lower lip, reaching around to free Elsa's hair from its braid and letting it spill across the both of them.

Elsa made a muffled noise of complaint, and Anna thwacked the back of her head softly. "Leave it alone," she hissed, arching up into Elsa's mouth. She received another growl in response, as well as a warning bite on her breast. Finding that she didn't care that much, she urged the blonde's nearest hand downward, her breath leaving her in a gasp when expert fingers toyed with the wetness between her thighs.

And then Elsa was moving downwards, kissing trembling abs and encircling her navel with a deft tongue. Anna's head fell back against the pillow, mouth opened with wordless noises that were hushed in the quiet room. The apex between her legs was met with that same wonderful (and terrible) tongue, and she would have vibrated right off the bed if not for Elsa's firm grip on her lower back.

It was truly a crime that dorm rooms were so overcrowded (_coming from the girl without a real roommate, eh?_), because she really wanted to make as much noise as she pleased without being heard. Instead, she was forced to choke them back and swallow them down, even when she thought she might explode from it all. So she squirmed and panted, her hands buried in thick platinum tresses.

"Elsa," she whispered, feeling the burn bloom outward and coalesce all at once. The woman in between her legs merely hummed appreciatively, nuzzling her way back up to drop a sweet kiss on Anna's lips. She nibbled lazily on Elsa's lower lip, sucking it into her mouth.

"I didn't get you off," she remarked, guiltily peering up into the blonde's eyes.

Elsa winked. "I have two hands, you know."

Anna found solace for her flushed face just under Elsa's jaw. "What time is it?"

Elsa reached over to rummage for something on the desk. She squinted at her phone. "Five," she said, yawning, dropping the device down with a clatter.

"In the morning?"

The blonde aimed a look of disbelief at her—a pretty difficult task, seeing as Anna was attempting to become one with Elsa's neck. "You know I'm not functional this early," she said by way of an explanation. She cuddled against Elsa, securing her arms around the taller woman. "Can we stay like this forever?"

She could feel Elsa smile against her. "You'd choose to be stuck with me?" Elsa asked. "How brave of you."

"I would," she said, playful and serious all at once. "Aren't I 'stuck' with you right now?"

"Mm, poor choice of words."

"Wow."

Elsa pulled the discarded blanket from the foot of the bed and laid it across them. "Go to sleep, Anna," she said. "You're like a toddler when you don't get enough rest."

Anna snuffed out a laugh from underneath the blanket. "I'm finding you more and more attractive, Elsa. It must be how high you hold me in your regard."

"Good_night_, Anna."

"But it's morning!"

"I'll be extra certain to smother you in your sleep, dearest."

And Anna drifted off to sleep, smiling because it was easy.


	12. Awake

600 follows! Woo! Good shit, guys. Here's another chapter for you all.

* * *

A week passed without incident. There was no further correspondence between Elsa and Hans, and Anna was quietly relieved because of it. Not because she was jealous (which she _was_), but because it wore on Elsa far more than she let on. Anna wasn't as oblivious as Kristoff jokingly liked to claim, and she knew raw fatigue when she saw it, though Elsa was adept at hiding it. The blonde was slowly coming apart, seam by seam. It was hard to watch and even harder to ignore. She didn't want to—_god_, she wanted the opposite—but whenever she opened her mouth to confront Elsa, all she saw was that damn tired gaze.

The looming threat of Elsa's parents weighed down on her shoulders, and Anna wasn't fit to bear it for her—not without all the information, not without learning secrets. In time, Anna recognized that she _would _eventually know everything, but she growing impatient. If her relationship with Elsa had been a normal one without scheming parents, an odd step brother, magical powers, and darker pasts, she imagined that she would have preferred something… slower (something romantic?). She wanted to learn and be learned _slowly_, like it was something to be savored. Instead, she found herself impatiently waiting for an influx of Elsa-styled grief, and it was all seemed to stem from a particularly dysfunctional family.

Still, she was learning. Not at the rate she really desired, but she didn't have it in her to be sore about it. Elsa was fascinating. _Not in a weird, calculative… _experiment-type _way (this is getting out of control), but a good way. A nice way. She's so different from me. It's a little bit like culture shock, I guess. There just might be some merit in that, too. Or I could just be day dreaming about my girlfriend—that probably makes more sense. _

The more she learned, the more she worried. Elsa took on far more than she really ought to. She stayed up later, ate less, fretted more. And Anna was so _worried_, because she'd look at Elsa and could only see thoughts tormenting the blonde. She held Elsa tighter and tighter every night as if her presence alone could soothe away the ache in Elsa's heart. She knew it wasn't enough; it would never be enough, but she wouldn't stop. The distraction that holed up in Elsa's eyes abated just a little whenever she latched on.

She wanted this all to end. She wanted to call up Elsa's parents and tell them to fuck off, because they had no right to interfere in their daughter's life with how they treated her. It was _absurd_; it was cowardice. They singlehandedly hollowed out the happiness in _her _Elsa, and she was livid. Elsa was proud and strong and good, but she had a softness for her family (even Hans), and it didn't need to be spoken aloud to be heard.

She felt helpless. Weak, even. There was very little that she could do—barring accosting Elsa's parents herself, but she had a sneaking suspicion that wouldn't be appreciated—so it left her grasping at nothing. Waiting for Hans, waiting for Elsa, waiting for _anything_. It was maddening, and she was left without purpose. She wanted to take action. Sitting on the sidelines wasn't her thing (_the hypocrite says as she still hasn't talked to Rapunzel_). So, she waited. And she wasn't sure if the wait—the dread that built in her throat—was going to bring anything better to the situation.

It took its toll on her as well, though not to the same degree it had for Elsa. She didn't forget her studies (because if her dad didn't kill her for shirking her responsibilities, Rapunzel would) or wall herself off, but she did find herself in a state of nervous anticipation almost constantly. Elsa had turned into a brooding mess of platinum, while Anna fidgeted and over thought pretty much everything. _Everyone on the damn planet can see what a babbling weirdo you've turned into, dipshit. You're babbling in your head, like, right _now.

Point was, it affected her, too. Elsa seemed terribly put out by this, but she waved her girlfriend away with an eye roll. The last thing Elsa needed on top of her family's bullshit and college and fucking _magical powers_ was Anna moping alongside her. And Elsa—being Elsa—gave her a thorough lecture to make certain she knew that she didn't have to throw her feelings by wayside. She had found it so endearing and annoying that she just agreed with a smile. There was very little that "Passionate Elsa" couldn't do, and dissuading a stubborn Anna was obviously one of her talents. She'd held Elsa again that night, whispering words of affection, because there wasn't anyone else she knew who made her feel wanted and chastised at the same time. And, better yet, chastised for not _thinking of herself enough_.

Worth. She was beginning to understand the regard in which Elsa held it. To herself, to her parents, to Hans, to Anna. She'd told the redhead on many occasions that they were equals, and Anna believed it. She could look at Elsa and see her struggle with it—struggle against her own words because she did not believe them. Or, really, that she was at odds between believing in them and not. Elsa could be entirely in her element and comfortable with herself in one moment, then curling inward when Hans or her parents were mentioned. The change was unsettling to watch, and despite wanting to reach out to comfort the blonde, Anna stayed back. Whatever war going on in Elsa's head and heart was not something she felt needed interfering.

Time was becoming scarce. It was funny somehow, because though the hours dragged on, the days grew shorter and shorter. _Funny? Maybe "depressing" is a better word for it. Makes sense, anyhow._ The weight in Anna's heart became heavier. She was restless. Seven days had passed, and with each gone by, she found herself to be more apprehensive than the last. Elsa was more visibly worse for wear, but bore it silently. They both wanted "the call." From either Hans or Elsa's parents—it didn't really matter, just as long as they got it.

Anna was torn. She wanted the call because she could finally have a deadline to better gather her thoughts. _Jesus, am I turning into Elsa, now? _At the same time, though, she wanted to stave it off because even if she did gather her thoughts, who's to say she'll even be able to express herself properly? There were many outcomes to a meeting with Elsa's family over the extent of their relationship, and stammering into unconsciousness was one of the most probable. Another was that she'll go into an incomprehensible rage against them, because they fucking _deserve _it. Not only for questioning Elsa's judgment and involvement with herself, but for scarring Elsa in the way they had.

_And—for chrissake—I don't even _know _what they did! It's got to be pretty fucking bad, though. I mean, besides thoroughly stunting Elsa's emotional growth and berating her for something she can't even control. Just add them to the goddamn tally, I guess. _

The bubble that surrounded them was going to burst. Anna wondered if they would be ready when it did.

* * *

Thursdays were a gift. It was the only day of the week where both Anna and Elsa had one class, and the redhead cherished them. The majority of her dorm was gone by the time the two of them returned, so they were left with—most of the time—peaceful quiet. She would crawl back home after a grueling 9am class, doze off until Elsa's reappearance at noon, and then they'd spend the day together. It was routine.

But Kristoff had other plans. She _had _promised to hang out with him, didn't she? She loved the big guy, truly, but why did he claim her precious Thursday as recompense? It was the last day of her school week and the beginning of a sleepy weekend with her girlfriend. Routine. Why'd he have to go and ruin that?

_Hey, you _did _ignore him for a couple weeks. Don't you think you're being a little self-centered right now? Stop being a brat and hang out with your friend. _

She really needed to stop referring to herself in second person. It was getting a bit weird.

"Yo."

Quite comfortably curled up with her head in Elsa's lap, Anna probably never would have responded to the greeting, but Elsa's fingers had stilled in their methodical weaving through her hair, so she arched a look up at the doorway. Kristoff was there, one hand at the back of his neck, face reddened.

"Hey," she said, sitting up and stretching. "What's up, Kristoff?" Beside her, Elsa inclined her head politely to the man (and his face only got redder).

He looked between them. "I—er… was wondering if you wanted to hang out? Like we agreed on?" Why did he keep looking at Elsa like that? Was he _afraid _of her or something? Or was he asking her for approval, like she held the reins? Anna was faintly amused by this. Whenever Kristoff and Elsa were in the same room, it was with several other people being there as well. They usually never spoke to one another besides for niceties, and even then it was probably one of the most awkward things Anna would ever witness. Now, they didn't have the safe buffer of more peers to fill the silences. Only Anna.

She smirked.

She gestured to the expanse of the room. "Well, let's hang out."

"Here?"

"Did you have anywhere else in mind?" she asked. "Thursdays are strictly for laying around." She pointed at the uninhabited bed. "You can sit if you want, you know." He shuffled toward the bed, gingerly sitting down, hand still glued to the back of his neck.

"So."

She bit down on her lip to keep from laughing. "So." It was cruel of her to do this, she knew, but she hadn't been lying when she said Thursday was her lazy day. That was completely true. Unfortunately for Kristoff, that rule still applied.

She cocked her head to the side. "Wait, don't you have class right now?" It was unusual to see Kristoff besides on weekends, and even then, he was sparse. _He's like smoke on the wind. A ghost in everyday life. A phantom._

"I skipped," he said, scrunching his brows together. "Not my thing, but I've had one hell of a shitty week." He squirmed on the bed, finding a better position, and momentarily forgetting his obvious discomfort with her mute of a girlfriend. The only thing that assured her of Elsa's presence was the slight chill and the movement of eyebrows in her peripheral vision. _It's like she's relying on them completely to express herself. You can talk, Elsa. Your eyebrows have no capability for language. _

Still, she frowned. "Why, what happened?"

Kristoff's eyes darkened. "My parents got a cat. Named it Marshmallow. Sven doesn't like it." He pulled out his phone and showed her a picture of the cat in question. "Look at the damn thing. It's not even white. Why name a cat after a marshmallow if it's not even the same color as one?"

"And you're telling me that this cat is the reason why you've had a bad week?"

He rolled his eyes. "Not _all _of the reason why, but a good portion of it."

"What else, then?" she asked patiently. "This cat's done a great injustice to you, I can see that, but what else has?"

"Well, Sven doesn't get along with the cat, like I said." Kristoff leaned forward once more, phone at the ready with a picture of the pup. "Look at his face. _Look_. His eyes are so sad."

She nodded (and it wasn't the slightest bit dramatic). "I can tell." Elsa chuckled from beside her, and she nailed the older woman with a strategically placed elbow. "I mean, come _on_. There's obvious distaste in his eyes. His beautiful, beautiful brown eyes."

Kristoff sighed. "Aren't they, though?"

Finally, Elsa spoke up. "He's a lab mix, isn't he?" she asked, looking genuinely curious.

Kristoff looked so startled that Anna had to choke down a cackle. And _that _wasn't the most attractive sight, what with the redhead wheezing and falling backwards, both hands slapping to her mouth to hide the hacking.

"I—me?" Kristoff's expression contorted to one of great mystery, because Anna wasn't sure if he was going to shit his pants or proclaim his everlasting love to whomever professed interest in his dog. She had to wonder, though, as to why Kristoff turned into a puddle of decidedly unmanly goop whenever Elsa was around. She knew _when_ it had started to happen, and that had been when she and Elsa had begun dating. She still wasn't quite certain of the why, and she was almost afraid to know.

However, Elsa was trying. She'd been around Kristoff plenty of times before, and she was politely attentive (though outwardly aloof), so _of course _Elsa knew what breed Sven was. Kristoff blathered about his dog so often that the entire campus probably knew, too. But Elsa was extending her hand to the man, and it was up to him if he wanted to take it or not. Without Rapunzel and Eugene around anymore, the three of them were all that was left of their group. Elsa couldn't fall back on the others and hide behind Anna's shadow.

So, Elsa nodded, smiling warmly. Kristoff needed only a few seconds of shocked realization before launching into every detail regarding Sven. Anna sat back, content to admire her two favorite people. Maybe they wouldn't be best friends, but they were both trying for her sake, and that's all she could have asked for without knowing that she wanted it in the first place.

She needed the normalcy. Craved it, really. Because watching two people interact, though awkward, was easy. She didn't have to worry about her fears, Elsa's fears. She didn't have to worry about what was unknown, because what was in front of her was so familiar that she could forget about what was not. She didn't have to worry about anything at all.

Nothing.

* * *

When Kristoff finally left, he did so with a bounce in his step. Anna's face hurt from smiling so much. Elsa remained quietly amused about the whole ordeal, but Anna knew the blonde had a good time. When the door clicked shut, she checked the time—almost 4pm. She laid back on the bed, cradling her head with her hands. Elsa rested on her side, idly trailing a finger along Anna's knee, her touch feather light and comforting.

"Thank you for talking to Kristoff," she said. Elsa smiled, perhaps in remembrance of the act or perhaps how Anna had phrased the statement. Maybe a little of both.

"He means a lot to you," Elsa said. "It should have been sooner, so there's no need to thank me."

She nodded. "It's still there, though."

Elsa peered down at her, raising a hand to brush flyaway hairs from her forehead. The hand stayed there for a long while, delicately framing her jaw and brushing to her temples. Elsa's blue eyes reeled her in and she immersed herself in them, because there was nothing that could compete with the expressive depths of those eyes. Elsa's hand stilled, finding a resting spot where Anna's neck met her right shoulder. "Hans called me yesterday," she said, her gaze so penetrating that Anna had to look away. She mulled over the information slowly, tasting it on her tongue and finding it bitter.

"You knew for a whole day," she remarked.

"You'd take the news better over a weekend," Elsa said. "Are you upset with me?"

She shook her head. "No. That makes a lot of sense—waiting to tell me on a Thursday." She shrugged. "What did he say?"

"They want to see me soon; this weekend or next."

"What will you say to them?"

"I'm not sure. I was hoping to figure it out with you." Then, quieter, Elsa added, "You can come with me if you want. You can come with me to speak with them."

Anna's eyes darted between Elsa's. "Really?"

Elsa nodded, but her face was grim. "It has to happen sooner or later, doesn't it?" She sighed. "I don't want to hide our relationship—I don't want to hide _you_."

Anna bit down on her lip to conceal her smile. "How romantic," she said, trying to infuse it with dryness, but it was awfully hard with how fast her heart had sped up. _How distracting, I should say._

"Aren't I, though?" Elsa asked, quirking up a perfect brow. She sobered after a moment. "Anna?"

She tried to gather her thoughts (_damn Elsa for jumbling them so easily_). She was quite suddenly afraid. Of Elsa's parents, their reactions, of Elsa's own, too. Of hers. There was so much riding on what they had to say. Even if Erik and Helen chose not to accept it, chose to be unhappy with such a decision, she wouldn't willingly be separated from Elsa. That's just not something that would come to fruition.

Even so, she still _wanted _to be accepted. She wanted to see Elsa happy. She didn't even care that Elsa's parents weren't worthy of seeing that happiness or being the cause for it. She didn't care. She cared for Elsa so deeply—so damn deeply that it was bordering on something she couldn't properly verbalize.

This was their shot.

"I'll go with you," she said, sitting up to take Elsa's face in her hands. "I will."

She sealed it with a kiss.


End file.
